Travis Barker has announced that he won’t be able to join his bandmates on their Australian tour this year due to a crippling fear of flying.

The 37-year old says he can’t bring himself to get back on a plane since surviving a horrific crash five years ago which took the lives of his assistant and security guard as well as both pilots. Travis was seriously injured in the crash and endured terrible burns in the aftermath. His friend, the late DJ Adam Goldstein, was the only other survivor. Goldstein was found dead in 2009 of an apparent drug overdose.

Barker gave apologies to his fans on his Facebook page, saying he has given the band his permission to hire a stand-in drummer for their tour.

I’m sorry to announce i won’t be joining Blink-182 on this Australian tour. 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. 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.

Image: Facebook