Barker crash 'caused by tyre blowout'

A tyre blowout caused the plane crash that killed four people and left ex-Blink 182 drummer Travis Barker in a critical condition, reports People.

The Learjet aircraft crashed just after takeoff from Columbia, South Carolina on Friday. Pilot Sarah Lemmon and co-pilot James Bland were killed, along with passengers Chris Parker and Charles Still.

Barker and Adam Goldstein, better known as DJ AM, escaped the wreckage and are in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit at a nearby Georgia hospital.

Debbie Hersman of the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington said: "The cockpit voice recorder went on for two hours, but the last 18 minutes were most pertinent, because those words proved that it was a tyre blowout that [may have] caused the crash killing four people.

"After getting their clearance from Air Traffic Control, the plane only got 80 knots on the 8,600-foot runway before the incident."

Hersman added: "The Air Traffic Control tapes stated that they gave the crew clearance to depart, as well as the wind speeds. The tapes went on to say they saw sparks and heard the crew on the plane explaining that they were going off of the runway.

"We are doing a lot more investigating because, while it is not uncommon to blow a tyre, it is rare for something like that to end in a fatal accident."