Donald Trump remembers NASCAR driver Greg Biffle at NC rally. ‘Great young man.’

In Rocky Mount Friday night, President Donald Trump remembered NASCAR driver Greg Biffle.

Biffle died in a plane crash at Statesville Regional Airport Thursday along with his wife, their two children and three others.

“I also want to express my condolences to the people of this state and the loved ones of NASCAR legend Greg Biffle, who perished yesterday, had a tragic plane crash with his family in Statesville,” Trump said at a rally.

‘Pay our condolences, our love’

The president told the crowd he twice met Biffle, who lived on Lake Norman in Mooresville with his family.

“He was a great young man, and what a tragedy that is with his whole family,” Trump said. “So I just want to pay our condolences, our love. North Carolina will never forget them.”

On Friday, National Transportation Safety Board officials held a news conference providing preliminary information on the crash. Between 10:05 a.m. and 10:15 a.m., the plane left the airport about 45 miles north of Charlotte, returned for an unknown reason and crashed before the runway entrance, NTSB member Michael Graham said.

The 44-year-old Cessna 550 jet was in the air for about five minutes before it started to return, Investigator-In-Charge Dan Baker said. The jet left Statesville at about 10:05 a.m. It made a left turn toward the west followed by a left turn to the east, which led the aircraft back to the airport.

The airplane made initial impact with a runaway light about 1,800 feet from the runway, Baker said. It later hit trees, two other lights and the airport perimeter fence short of the runway before coming to a stop on the runway, Baker said.

The Cessna 550 jet was destroyed in the crash and subsequent fire, the Federal Aviation Administration said.

Witnesses noted on social media the plane cut a path through a wooded area near the airport, and left a smoking trail carved in the grass before it came to a stop. Graham added that when the plane was returning to the airport, witnesses noted that it returned at a low height.

The NTSB has scheduled another news conference regarding the crash for 11 a.m. Saturday.

This story was originally published December 20, 2025 at 8:38 AM.