blog.MuchMusic.com www.MuchMusic.com

US federal safety investigators said on Tuesday that under inflated tires caused the 2008 plane crash involving Travis Barker and DJ AM in which four people died.

Other factors in the crash like a design flaw in the aircraft and the decision by the captain to abort takeoff in Columbia, South Carolina were also cited by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

“This accident didn’t have to happen,” said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. “There are no small maintenance items because every time a plane takes off lives are on the line.” The investigators also warned that under inflated tires may be a common problem among business jets.

The company that chartered the plane with DJ AM and Travis Barker, Global Exec Aviation, guessed that the tire pressure was last checked three weeks before the accident but investigators say that these tires generally need to be replaced within eight days.

The flaw in the aircraft was also to blame for a plane crash in 2001 in Alabama, but the investigators said that Learjet Inc. didn’t take swift enough action to correct the problem after that crash.

Tags: DJ AM, plane crash, travis barker

Posted on Wednesday, April 7th, 2010 at 9:18 am by Jessica F and is filed under News.

Related Articles:

• Travis Barker + Snoop party on
• Travis Barker reaches settlement in jet crash case
• Blink-182′s Travis Barker gets the Virgin Mary tattooed on his head
• Travis Barker & DJ AM In Plane Crash
• Travis Barker visits burn centre