Pop-punk fans of the 90’s-00’s were excited by this weeks news of Blink-182 reuniting for a world tour. The three original members: Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and breakout Kardashians star Travis Barker are joining forces for the first time in over a decade.
The real reason this tour is possible may surprise you… you actually have Kourtney Kardashian Barker to thank.
The person actually responsible for the @Blink182 reunion tour ✈️: pic.twitter.com/sbmRup0Qd8
— Reality By Ashley (@RealityByAshley) October 11, 2022
Travis Barker Plane Crash
On the night of September 19, 2008, business jet N999LJ operating for Global Exec Aviation crashed during take-off. The six passengers, one of which being Travis Barker, went down at Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina.
Four on board died in the crash. The sole survivors were Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein, and the Blink-182 drummer, who were both critically injured.
This photo from the scene shows the horror endured. Barker had burns on sixty-five percent of his body and was hospitalized for eleven weeks following this accident:
jet N999LJ crashes in South Carolina
Travis Barker Refuses to Fly
Suffering PTSD from the accident, Barker refused to fly for over a decade. After missing several tours with his band because of his fear, Travis Barker slowly began to separate from Blink-182.
In this announcement from 2013, the drummer explained why he wouldn’t be attending his bands Australian tour.
“I’m sorry to announce I won’t be joining Blink-182 on this Australian tour,” he writes on his Facebook page. “I still haven’t gotten over the horrific events that took place the last time I flew when my plane crashed and 4 people were killed, two being my best friends.”
He continues, “I gave the band my blessing to take another drummer if they still wanted to do the tour without me. I hope to come to Australia again some day perhaps by ship if need be. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a boat that worked with the schedule this time around. Once again I’m sorry to all the fans.”
Several other overseas opportunities were missed because of Barker’s refusal to fly. The band member wouldn’t even board a plane… but then in 2021, everything changed because of one woman: Kourtney Kardashian.
Kourtney Kardashian Saves The Day
In August 2021 Travis Barker boarded a plane to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico with his then-girlfriend, now wife, Kourtney Kardashian. An amazing triumph which Barker credits exclusively to Kourtney. “I’m invincible when I’m with her,” Barker, told Nylon Magazine. “It’s like I never dreamed, I never even considered flying again.”
Barker celebrated the feat with an appropriately captioned Instagram post.
The Show Must Go On
Since the iconic drummer is flying again, the natural thing is for him to join back up with his band and tour the world. With nothing stopping Barker, thanks to his wife Kourtney, the band announced their 2023-2024 reunion with a now-viral video.
Tour dates have been announced for several countries that will require Barker to travel by plane. Fans can celebrate his Kardashians queen helping to make this possible.
Ashley Marie is a writer for Starcasm and the personality behind Twitter’s @RealityByAshley. You can contact Ashley via Twitter or email at realitybyashley(at)gmail.com
