{"id":360658,"date":"2025-12-22T00:19:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T00:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/360658\/"},"modified":"2025-12-22T00:19:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T00:19:24","slug":"investigation-begins-into-north-carolina-jet-crash-that-killed-retired-nascar-driver-greg-biffle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/360658\/","title":{"rendered":"Investigation begins into North Carolina jet crash that killed retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle"},"content":{"rendered":"

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First responders tend to the scene of a reported plane crash at a regional airport in Statesville, N.C., on Thursday.Matt Kelley\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Federal investigators sifting through the wreckage of a business jet that crashed in North Carolina and killed retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his family, and three others are trying to figure out who was flying the plane and what caused it to return to the airport soon after takeoff.<\/p>\n

The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground Thursday, killing all seven on board. It had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about 72 kilometres north of Charlotte, but crashed less than 10 minutes later while trying to return and land, authorities said.<\/p>\n

Flight records show the plane was registered to a company run by Biffle. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board were at the airport trying to determine the cause of the crash and why the plane returned to the airport in drizzle and cloudy conditions.<\/p>\n

Seven killed in jet crash at North Carolina airport, including former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle<\/a><\/p>\n

Federal Aviation Administration records show Biffle was rated to fly helicopters, and single- and multi-engine planes. Also on board was Dennis Dutton. Two people appear in a federal database of pilot licenses under that name. The crash also killed Dutton\u2019s son, Jack, and Biffle\u2019s friend Craig Wadsworth.<\/p>\n

Biffle\u2019s wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, were also killed in the crash, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of them meant everything to us, and their absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives,\u201d the joint family statement said.<\/p>\n

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Greg Biffle holds his daughter, Emma, before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2012.Rainier Ehrhardt\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Cristina Biffle\u2019s mother told People magazine that her daughter sent her a text message saying, \u201cWe\u2019re in trouble,\u201d before she didn\u2019t hear from her again.<\/p>\n

Greg Biffle, 55, won more than 50 races across NASCAR\u2019s three circuits, including 19 at the Cup Series level. He also won the Trucks Series championship in 2000 and the Xfinity Series title in 2002.<\/p>\n

NASCAR called Biffle \u201ca beloved member of the NASCAR community, a fierce competitor, and a friend to so many.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis passion for racing, his integrity, and his commitment to fans and fellow competitors alike made a lasting impact on the sport,\u201d NASCAR said.<\/p>\n

A memorial with flowers sprouted up Friday by Biffle\u2019s marble star in his hometown of Mooresville, honouring him as a member of the North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

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Greg Biffle won more than 50 races across NASCAR\u2019s three circuits, including 19 at the Cup Series level.Dave Tulis\/The Associated Press<\/p>\n

In 2024, Biffle was honoured for his humanitarian efforts after Hurricane Helene struck the U.S., even using his personal helicopter to deliver aid to flooded, remote western North Carolina.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last time I spoke with Cristina, just a couple of weeks ago, she reached out to ask how she could help with relief efforts in Jamaica. That\u2019s who the Biffles were,\u201d U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from North Carolina, said.<\/p>\n

Wadsworth was Biffle\u2019s friend and helped him with odd jobs, including delivering supplies to places hit by Hurricane Helene, roommate Benito Howell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t know how to say no,\u201d Howell said of Wadsworth, who had worked for several NASCAR teams. \u201cHe loved everybody. He always tried to help everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

The joint family statement also spoke about Dutton and his son Jack, saying they were \u201cdeeply loved as well, and their loss is felt by all who knew them.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Statesville airport remained closed Friday while the NTSB performed its investigation, a city spokesperson said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: First responders tend to the scene of a reported plane crash at a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":360659,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[901,888,902,879,877,903,49,48,876,895,896,891,878,875,46,549,295,894,887,914,880,881,893,889,890,884,904,634,885,909,910,912,907,911,905,908,882,898,899,714,897,906,82,865,61,900,892,886,883,913],"class_list":["post-360658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-nascar","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=360658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/360658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/360659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=360658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=360658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=360658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}