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Plane Crashes

Aircraft in 2008 Columbia Crash That Killed Four Identified as N999LJ

An official NTSB case record for the September 19, 2008 accident in Columbia, South Carolina lists the tail number of the aircraft; four of the six people on board were killed.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 13, 2026, 8:20 p.m. ET

More on this incident

The aircraft involved in the September 19, 2008 crash at has been identified as , according to the official National Transportation Safety Board accident record for the case, docketed as DCA08MA098. The case record was matched to the event on date and city. United States aircraft registry records for list the type as a RANS and the configuration as a single-engine piston landplane. Registry entries can be out of date, and the registry description is not a statement about what happened. The accident occurred , according to TMZ, which reported that an FAA spokesperson said the plane carrying people attempted to take off from Columbia when people in the tower reported seeing sparks. TMZ reported people were killed and were on board; TMZ and Vice both reported the aircraft went off the runway and crashed on a highway embankment, catching fire, during . The cause has not been determined; TMZ named the FAA as involved in the response, and the NTSB holds the accident case record. Among the details reported in the earlier coverage: the two survivors were Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM, Adam Michael Goldstein, both taken to a burn center in critical but stable condition, while two pilots and two of Barker's staff were killed.

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Reference data

From aircraft and geographic registries, not from the news sources. Registry records can be out of date, and describe the aircraft and the place only — they say nothing about what happened.

Registration
N999LJ
Type
RANS — single-engine piston landplane
Terrain elevation
292 ft
Nearest aerodrome
3.1 miles NW of Jim Hamilton L.B. Owens Airport (KCUB/CUB)

Sources

Revision history

  1. Version 114 Aug 2026, 00:20current

    First published.

  2. Version 113 Aug 2026, 02:39current

    First published.

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