Travis says he's still suffering from the effects of a plane crash in September 2008 which killed four people, including Travis' friend and assistant Chris Baker and security guard Che Still.

The 37-year-old drummer was one of two survivors when a private plane burst into flames during an aborted take-off.

In a Facebook post, Travis writes:

"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."

The traumatized drummer hasn't flown again since the accident, opting to rely on sea travel to get around. He took an ocean liner all the way to the UK, so that he could take part in the band's European tour last year.

In an official statement, all three members of Blink-182 announce:

"The band knew the chances of Travis overcoming his fear of flying, which was magnified after the horrible plane crash in 2008, would be a challenge, but we wanted to play for our fans in Australia nonetheless. The three of us tried all measures to get us all there in full form. Travis has been working to overcome his fear of flying. Since we now know we have to make the trip without Travis our friend Brooks Wackerman (Bad Religion, Tenacious D) has stepped in. We love our fans in Australia so canceling was not an option so we still plan to come and play some kick ass shows."