Plane Owned By NASCAR Driver Greg Biffle Crashes in North Carolina

[osu1991]

Fatalities reported after private jet owned by NASCAR driver crashes at Statesville airport

Fatalities reported after private jet owned by NASCAR driver crashes at Statesville airport

Emergency crews are responding to a plane crash Thursday morning at the Statesville Regional Airport.

www.wsoctv.com

The crash occurred at approximately 10:20 a.m. at the airport, which is located about 45 miles north of Charlotte. The Iredell County Sheriff's Office reported confirmed fatalities, although the exact number has yet to be verified.

Plane Owned By NASCAR Driver Greg Biffle Crashes in North Carolina

The Cessna C550, registered to former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, crashed while trying to attempt a landing at North Carolina's Statesville Regional Airport.

ca.news.yahoo.com

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I am hearing that they believe Greg Biffle was on board.

 

[meStevo]

View: https://www.threads.com/@itiswellwithmysoul76/post/DSak2JfDa1w?xmt=AQF0Al5_U5pE3AUj-XLcDn3aXLHP3dD2e1P0-OzLAHkHzA

 

[dfergie]

Sad news, R.I.P. ...

 

[Foxbat]

One of the more respectable drivers in NASCAR, may he and his family Rest in Peace…

 

[RaiderPower]

Although The Biff was, indeed, a well-above average driver, who in addition to his nineteen Cup Series victories, also won championships in both the Truck Series and in what is now known as the Nationwide Series, he was far beyond a successful race car driver as despite his incredibly accomplished driving history, his real claim to fame was his success as a husband, a father, and a humanitarian as evidenced by virtue of his flying his personal helicopter to the Ashville, NC area after the devastating floods experienced in 2024, where he organized a relief effort that both saved numerous lives and delivered much-needed goods, flying his helicopter every day on multiple missions for more than two weeks in direct support of that effort. He was the epitome of a good and holy man. Well done, good and faithful servant.

 

[Mr Tony]

R.I.P.

 

[Jimbo]

R.I.P. Greg and Family.

 

[dfergie]

View: https://youtu.be/_qWyPuPDN-8?si=fnkhjolgPmAEuZjQ

 

[Yespage]

Sounds like they should have aborted the takeoff or landed immediately.

 

[Jimbo]

Sounds like they should have aborted the takeoff or landed immediately.

I think they were Trying to land immediatly ...

They wern't up there very long.

 

[Yespage]

I think they were Trying to land immediatly ...

They wern't up there very long.

My bad. They were returning. There was a comment about Biffle, presumably asking about going above cloud line and the indication was they were VFR, which made it sound to me they were en route at that point.

 

[Jimbo]

My bad. They were returning. There was a comment about Biffle, presumably asking about going above cloud line and the indication was they were VFR, which made it sound to me they were en route at that point.

The way I understood it, they had just gotten up in the air and found something wrong and were trying to go back to where they came from ... iirc, I follow alot of these airline issues, so I cound be mixing it up, but I don't think so.

I believe they were being advised to go to Charlotte, but determined that they could not make it taht far and returned to Statesville .

 

[meStevo]

Last I read the crux of it all is they didn't have a qualified pilot.

 

[dfergie]

Last I read the crux of it all is they didn't have a qualified pilot.

Captain Steve ... No fly without another qualified pilot.

View: https://youtu.be/dXeFn4sQbxM?si=r-bf8hRbuRVY4eoB

 

[Foxbat]

I find Capt. Steve is a little too over-produced and self-important. Juan Browne tends to present the report's findings without any grandstanding.

​

 

[Foxbat]

Last I read the crux of it all is they didn't have a qualified pilot.

The Pilot was certified to fly the aircraft, but his type certificate required a type-certified copilot. So, the pilot was qualified, but he operated the aircraft illegally. Unfortunately, we'll never know how much pressure was involved with this flight, as it seems it wasn't properly planned for. The pilot should have arranged for a qualified co-pilot to be available for the flight. Weather conditions dictated an IFR flight plan be filed before departure, but it was skipped with the hope that it would be granted after takeoff.

The plane approached the airport from the reverse direction from which they took off. That seems odd, but if there was no wind, it might have been a case of them wanting to get the plane safely down to figure out its instrument problems. Except that the "fix" of enabling the #1 generator seems to have cleared up the pilot's instruments. If the pilot had returned to a higher altitude and the copilot had continued with requesting the IFR clearance to SRQ, they might have made it.

It sounds like there was undue pressure to get the plane on its way, which has been the undoing of many a doomed flight.

 

[dfergie]

Yep the Pilots son was in the right seat only qualified for single engine planes.