It was back in September 2008 when Travis Barker of Blink 182 was in the same severe plane crash as several other people. While Travis survived the crash, unfortunately four others did not. Barker did suffer from some pretty severe injuries after that crash, but none perhaps more so than those he’s still dealing with inside his own head. Understandably due to that crash, Barker now has a severe fear of flying; and it’s this that will force him to miss Blink’s Australia tour which kicks off on Wednesday.

“I’m sorry to announce I won’t be joining Blink-182 on this Australian tour,” Barker wrote on his official 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. 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 someday perhaps by ship if need be. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a boat that worked the schedule this time around. Once again I’m sorry to all the fans.”

The outpouring of support from those same fans on that page are an indication that everyone understands what he’s going through, and are willing to give him time to heal.

Those two friends Barker lost were his personal assistant Chris Baker and his friend, Che Still, who Barker had asked to come along after his ex-wife could not get away. DJ AM was also on that same plane and while he survived the crash, he died of a drug overdose less than a year later in August 2009.

Stepping in for Barker during the Australian run will be Tenacious D’s Brooks Wackerman. Fans will get their first chance to hear what the new drummer sounds like when the tour begins on February 21 in Sydney.