Travis Barker Can’t Fly After Near Fatal Plane Crash In 2008

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker revealed that he is still unable to get aboard an airplane after almost perishing in a crash that killed four others and left Barker severely burned.

Blink-182 recently released their first new album in eight years and have just wrapped a tour in support of the new disc titled 'Neighborhoods'. During the tour, drummer Travis Barker traveled by bus only -- he has not boarded a plane since a private jet he was on crashed in September 2008. The horrific accident left four passengers dead and Barker himself with severe third-degree burns.

Traveling by bus works for tours in North America, but as Barker told Rolling Stone -- he's trying to overcome his fears to open up more touring possibilities:

"I'm trying to get hypnotized and I've been talking to a doctor who retrains your brain. I want to go to Australia, but that would take 32 or 33 days on a boat. I don't know if I could do that. It's so f---ed."

Though it was a horrific tragedy, the plane crash served as a catalyst for the band members to put their differences aside. Blink began work on what would eventually become 'Neighborhoods' after rekindling their friendships with each other in the wake of the accident. The crash may have limited Barker's traveling options, but heexplained that the brush with death also helped him adopt a healthier lifestyle:

"When I was lying in my hospital bed after my plane crash, I promised myself that if I could ever walk again, I'd swim everyday, exercise and eat well. I used to drink and had a painkiller addicttion, but all that stopped after my accident. I looked death right in the eye."

Blink-182 are scheduled to play at this year's Voodoo Music Experience festival in New Orleans, Louisiana on October 29th.