Update: Greg Biffle and family confirmed as plane passengers
A Cessna C550 crashed at the Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina as confirmed by the FAA.
The plane took off from the same airport just moments before the crash. The passengers were heading to Sarasota, Florida.
There were issues with the flight and the pilot attempted to land at the same airport it just took off from. The plane crashed into the runway and then erupted into flames.
It’s been reported that the incident occurred around 10:15am. The airport is located roughly 45 minutes from Charlotte, North Carolina.
The plane is owned by Greg Biffle
NASCAR driver Greg Biffle is the owner of the plane. GB Aviation Leasing is listed as the owner of tail number N257BW.
Fatalities have since been confirmed by the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.
55-year-old Greg Biffle is a former NASCAR Cup Series driver. He retired from full-time competition following the 2016 season with 19 race wins over 515 races.
Biffle ran two ARCA Menards Series races this season with Sigma Performance Services. He finished 3rd and 4th in those events.
At this time it remains unclear who was on the plane. (Update: The Biffle family have been confirmed as the passengers.
The Stateville Regional Airport posted the following statement around 11:00am:
“We can confirm there has been an aircraft incident at the Statesville Regional Airport.”
“At approximately 10:15am, an aircraft crashed while landing. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is en route and will investigate the incident.”
“No further details are available at this time. Updates will be provided as information becomes available.”
“Unfortunately, I can confirm Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma, and son Ryder were on that plane… because they were on their way to spend the afternoon with us. We are devastated. I’m so sorry to share this,” Garrett Mitchell stated via social media.
Mitchell is better known as Cleetus McFarland.
We can confirm the owner of the aircraft leasing company, but we do not know who was on the plane. It reported engine trouble shortly after take-off and was trying to land back at the airport. It crashed and burst into flames. Yes, I am aware of lots of other information from… pic.twitter.com/cRYutwMaZu
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