10 Celebrities Who Survived Plane Crashes & Accidents

Find out what happened during these terrifying accidents…

Back in 2008, musician Travis Barker was one of just two survivors of a devastating plane crash that claimed the lives of several of his closest friends. While the plane was taking off, the plane’s tires blew leading to a crash and fiery explosion. Travis was able to escape the wreckage through an emergency exit but he suffered third-degree burns on 65% of his body, had to undergo 26 surgeries, and was left with mental health issues. While he’s struggled with PTSD since the accident, Travis says things have started to get better as the years go on.

“The closer I was to it, it felt like I was closer to the bad stuff than I am to the good stuff. I felt closer to the experience of trying to escape, [to] being in an accident and being burned, trying to grab my friends from a burning plane. That haunted me for a long time. And as long as I was closer to that than this good stuff, I was always thinking about that. Now it’s been so many years, it’s getting easier for me. There are days where I’ll wake up and never think about it,” Travis told Men’s Health in 2021.

Harrison Ford has been an amatuer pilot for decades and has been involved in a few scary accidents. Back in 1999, he crashed a helicopter he was flying but was able to walk away without any injuries. Then in 2015, he was piloting a vintage World War II plane and that ended up experiencing a mechanical malfunction. He was forced to crash land on a golf course in Santa Monica. He suffered several injuries, including a dislocated ankle and a broken back.

Looking back on the accident, Harrison said it mentally affected him for years — especially while he was working on his series 1923.

“When the scripts were coming, I was struck by how many major moments in my character’s life had a substantial and not coincidental shadow of the same things in my life,” Harrison told People, alluding to a scene where his character is gravely injured.

He continued, “I watched a rehearsal with a stand-in being brought into the kitchen, and Helen [Mirren] coming in, sweeping everything off the counter, taking command….Even when I talk about it now, it emotionally relates to the airplane crash I had and what my wife went through.”

In 2000, Sandra Bullock was aboard a private jet that skidded off the runway while attempting to land in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Thankfully, Sandra, as well as her then-boyfriend, musician Bob Schneider, and the two crew members were unharmed. The plane reportedly sustained major damage.

In the years that followed, Sandra is said to have avoided plane travel out of fear and primarily traveled in a tour bus, according to driver Damian Holton.

Patrick Swayze was once forced to crash land his private plane while flying over Arizona. After hitting the ground, the plane hit a light pole and sheared off a section of its wing before heading down an empty paved road in an under construction community. Patrick and his passengers were not injured.

At the time, FAA officials were told the plane may have had a pressurization problem causing the emergency landing — but it was later reported that there may have been alcohol involved in the crash.

Ashton Kutcher has been involved in a few plane mishaps that involved emergency landings. In the early 2000s, Ashton and his That 70’s Show co-stars were on a private jet heading back from the Super Bowl. In his memoir, Wilmer Valderrama recalled the plane hitting a storm and “pitching up, down, side to side.” In the midst of the turbulence, an oxygen valve got stuck closed and the plane began filling with carbon monoxide.

“We fumble with our masks. Something is definitely not right with this plane,” Wilmer wrote. “Colin [Hanks] clutches the armrests of his seat with a death grip. Ashton’s jaw has dropped to his lap…Our plane is going down.”

Against all odds, the plane was able to safely make an emergency landing and no one was injured.

Demi Moore was on her way to New York aboard a private plane with her then-husband Ashton Kutcher when it had to make an emergency landing due to an engine problem. Thankfully, the plane was able to safely land in Las Vegas and no one was injured.

“My plane just had to do an emergency landing. Engine over heated. Fire engines everywhere good times,” Ashton posted on social media at the time, later posting that he was “happy to be alive.”

Bono and a group of friends were on board a private jet for a short trip from Dublin to Berlin when their plane had a scary mid-air accident. Just before they were set to land, a tailgate door broke off their plane. Thankfully, the door was not connected to the pressurized cabin — but the group did lose all of their luggage. Later on, the pilots admitted they had no idea the door fell off until they landed as there had been no major change to how the plane was flying.

“We were about 25 minutes from the airport, and there was a bang. And we thought we’d hit turbulence or maybe the landing gear was coming down,” Bono said, adding that the incident was a “bit scary, really.”

He continued, “The real relief was that the particular design meant that the plane didn’t decompress. You know there may be a few cows or sheep in the German countryside with a very sore head. We trust that nobody was hurt because we would have heard by now, and that was actually our first concern,” he said.

Jennifer Aniston was on board a private plane with her Friends co-star Courteney Cox and a couple of gal pals when their plane had to make a scary emergency landing. The group, who were headed to Cabo San Lucas to celebrate Jennifer’s birthday, said they heard an explosion as they were taking off — and it only got worse. Two hours into the trip, airport officials discovered wheel debris on the runway and believed it belonged to the plane.

The plane was turned around to head back to Los Angeles and was forced to make a landing with only one wheel. Thankfully, it was successful and no one was injured.

“I’m not afraid of flying at all, my dad was a pilot, but I was really scared because when we were taking off, we heard this really loud bang,” Courteney told Extra. “I was like, ‘Oh, that sounds like we should probably check that tire.’”

She continued, “There was no tire at all, there was no wheel. Luckily, there are two wheels on each side and two in the front…I have to say, we were in the air for four hours, burning off fuel and just thought of what it is going to be like when we land. It was a really smooth landing.”