A Cessna 550 business jet crashed Thursday at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina, killing seven people, including former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, NASCAR said.
The North Carolina Highway Patrol said Biffle and members of his immediate family were believed to be among those killed, but due to a serious fire following the crash, formal confirmation has not been completed. The plane was registered to a company linked to Biffle, Reuters reported.
Authorities said they will release the names of the seven passengers once the medical examiner’s office completes the confirmation.
The plane, which was bound for Florida, attempted to return to the North Carolina airport shortly after takeoff in bad weather around 10:15 a.m. (1515 GMT), according to FlightAware, an aircraft tracking website.
An image released by local media and social media shows a large fire on the runway amid the wreckage of the plane. The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a response team to the scene and will update the media on Friday about the investigation.
Biffle, 55, won 19 Cup Series races in a 20-year career, according to Field Level Media. His last race was the 2022 Geico 500 at Talladega, and in 2023 he was honored as one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina was among the lawmakers who praised Biffle. “Greg has been a titan in the NASCAR community on and off the track,” Tillis said. “After Helene devastated Western North Carolina, Greg stepped in without hesitation by using his personal helicopter to rescue victims and provide critical assistance to North Carolinians in need.”
The airport was closed after the incident and debris must be cleared from the runway before it can reopen, city officials said at a news conference.
(With inputs from Reuters)
