A plane crashed early Thursday at Statesville Regional Airport, killing seven people, including NASCAR star Greg Biffle, his wife and two children, and three other people. Biffle, who flew aircraft in WNC to help victims of Hurricane Helene, owned the Cessna that crashed mid-morning north of Charlotte.
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Statesville Regional Airport said it has reopened after clearing debris created by the plane crash that killed seven people last week, including NASCAR star Greg Biffle and his family.
Airport officials combined their reopening announcement with an acknowledgment of the impact the crash has had on the community and the NASCAR industry.
“The City of Statesville NC and Statesville Regional Airport extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in Thursday’s crash. We remain mindful of this loss as our community continues to grieve,” the airport wrote in a Dec. 21 Facebook post.
“Thank you to our emergency responders, partner agencies, and the community for their patience and cooperation.”
Charlotte is a NASCAR hub and the airport serves “several NASCAR teams,” according to its website. It is about a 45-mile drive north from uptown Charlotte.
The crash happened around 10:15 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, and resulted in the Cessna Citation C550 bursting into flames that spread to the surrounding runway turf, videos show. Instagram Atlas.news3 video screengrab
About the Greg Biffle plane crash
The plane crash happened around 10:15 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, and resulted in the Cessna Citation C550 bursting into flames that spread to the surrounding turf, videos show.
Investigators report the plane was flying low enough prior to the crash to hit trees, airport lighting and a perimeter fence.
Investigators have yet to determine who was piloting the aircraft at the time of the crash, due to multiple people on board having pilot’s licenses. The investigation is continuing.
This story was originally published December 23, 2025 at 8:49 AM.
Mark Price is a National Reporter for McClatchy News. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology.
A plane crashed early Thursday at Statesville Regional Airport, killing seven people, including NASCAR star Greg Biffle, his wife and two children, and three other people. Biffle, who flew aircraft in WNC to help victims of Hurricane Helene, owned the Cessna that crashed mid-morning north of Charlotte.
Expand All
Statesville Regional Airport said it has reopened after clearing debris created by the plane crash that killed seven people last week, including NASCAR star Greg Biffle and his family.
Airport officials combined their reopening announcement with an acknowledgment of the impact the crash has had on the community and the NASCAR industry.
“The City of Statesville NC and Statesville Regional Airport extend our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in Thursday’s crash. We remain mindful of this loss as our community continues to grieve,” the airport wrote in a Dec. 21 Facebook post.
“Thank you to our emergency responders, partner agencies, and the community for their patience and cooperation.”
Charlotte is a NASCAR hub and the airport serves “several NASCAR teams,” according to its website. It is about a 45-mile drive north from uptown Charlotte.
The crash happened around 10:15 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, and resulted in the Cessna Citation C550 bursting into flames that spread to the surrounding runway turf, videos show. Instagram Atlas.news3 video screengrab
About the Greg Biffle plane crash
The plane crash happened around 10:15 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 18, and resulted in the Cessna Citation C550 bursting into flames that spread to the surrounding turf, videos show.
Investigators report the plane was flying low enough prior to the crash to hit trees, airport lighting and a perimeter fence.
Investigators have yet to determine who was piloting the aircraft at the time of the crash, due to multiple people on board having pilot’s licenses. The investigation is continuing.
This story was originally published December 23, 2025 at 8:49 AM.
Mark Price is a National Reporter for McClatchy News. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology.
A plane crashed early Thursday at Statesville Regional Airport, killing seven people, including NASCAR star Greg Biffle, his wife and two children, and three other people. Biffle, who flew aircraft in WNC to help victims of Hurricane Helene, owned the Cessna that crashed mid-morning north of Charlotte.
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STATESVILLE
A passenger aboard NASCAR driver Greg Biffle’s plane texted a family member moments before the Cessna 550 jet crashed at Statesville Regional Airport Thursday, National Transportation Safety Board member Michael Graham said Saturday.
“Emergency landing,” read the text, Graham said at a news conference.
He declined to say who sent the text, and to whom, saying the NTSB needed to respect the family’s privacy during the ongoing crash investigation.
“We are not aware of any other communications from passengers to those on the ground,” Graham said.
“We do not know the circumstances which led the aircraft … to attempt to return to the airport,” Graham said. “That is the focus of our investigation.”
An NTSB investigator documents one of the engines from the Cessna Citation C550 that crashed in Statesville on Dec. 18, 2025. National Transportation Safety Board
‘Stable on approach’
On Friday, NTSB 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, 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.
NTSB investigators “are confident” they know who was piloting the plane “but still need to verify” that through further investigation, Graham said Saturday. The pilot will be named in the preliminary NTSB report on the crash within a month, he said.
“Early indications from multiple sources indicate that the airplane was stable on approach, configured for landing, with the landing lights on, but the aircraft was coming in low,” Graham said.
“That information is consistent with the debris field our team continues to survey, and consistent with the first points of impact on the airport runway lighting stanchion located approximately 1,800 feet from the runway threshold,” he said.
The airplane 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.
Partial view of the debris field from the Cessna Citation C550 crash in Statesville on Dec. 18, 2025. National Transportation Safety Board
In response to a question by The Charlotte Observer, Graham said the plane “was lower than a normal glide slope for the airport. And the fact that it contacted the approach lighting stanchion tells you that it was basically level or below the runway level at that point, because the runway is up on a hill a little bit.”
The Cessna 550 jet was destroyed in the crash and subsequent fire, the FAA 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.
On Friday, an NTSB team “documented the accident debris field, aircraft wreckage positioning, component locations and the flight controls,” Graham said Saturday.
Analysts at NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C., are examining the cockpit voice recorder recovered Friday, he said.
NTSB teams “also recovered additional avionics equipment, one being the ground proximity warning system, a Garmin G750 display … and various cockpit instruments,” Graham said.
The team secured the caution and warning panel from the instrument panel, he said.
The NTSB has the maintenance logs of the plane, and will try to determine its weight and balance “and verify the loading,” Graham said.
Another team continues to examine the engines of the plane, he said.
The NTSB completed documenting the scene Saturday morning and will release the scene to local authorities Sunday or Monday, Graham said.
NTSB investigators will continue gathering evidence at the site as long as it takes, he said.
A final report on the crash is expected in a year to a year and a half, he said.
He urged anyone who saw or has video of the crash to email the NTSB at witness@ntsb.gov.
NTSB will hold a media briefing on the Cessna Citation crash in Statesville, N.C. at 11 a.m. today in the Statesville Room at the Hilton Garden Inn. (1017 Gateway Crossing Drive).
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
Deaths have been reported after a business jet crashed while attempting to land at a regional airport in North Carolina, according to a local sheriff.“I can confirm there were fatalities,” Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell said. Campbell did not elaborate on how many people were killed.Video above: Crash scene at Statesville Regional Airport in North CarolinaThe jet crashed while attempting to make a landing at Statesville Regional Airport around 10:15 a.m. Thursday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The Hearst Television National Investigative Unit found that FAA records show the plane that crashed was a Cessna 550 Citation, a smaller jet often used by businesses. This Citation was built in 1981 and last certified for flight in March of this year.Flight plans show the plane was bound for Sarasota, Florida, and had three additional flights planned for Thursday. From Sarasota, the plane had planned to fly to Treasure Cay International Airport in the Bahamas before returning to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and then to Statesville by evening.Flight tracking data reviewed by the National Investigative Unit shows the jet departed Statesville Regional at approximately 10:06 am. The jet reached its highest altitude — approximately 2,000 feet — less than two minutes after departure and about a mile from the airport, and then it began to descend.It continued descending and at approximately 11 miles from the airport, the plane turned back and made an attempt to fly directly back to the airport. The final recorded data point, about nine minutes after takeoff, shows the plane less than a half-mile from the airport near the Lakewood Golf Club about 800 feet of altitude and approximately 109 mph. On its website, the airport says it provides corporate aviation facilities for Fortune 500 companies and several NASCAR teams. The airport, about 45 miles north of Charlotte, is currently closed. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
STATESVILLE, N.C. —
Deaths have been reported after a business jet crashed while attempting to land at a regional airport in North Carolina, according to a local sheriff.
“I can confirm there were fatalities,” Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell said. Campbell did not elaborate on how many people were killed.
Video above: Crash scene at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina
The jet crashed while attempting to make a landing at Statesville Regional Airport around 10:15 a.m. Thursday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The Hearst Television National Investigative Unit found that FAA records show the plane that crashed was a Cessna 550 Citation, a smaller jet often used by businesses. This Citation was built in 1981 and last certified for flight in March of this year.
Flight plans show the plane was bound for Sarasota, Florida, and had three additional flights planned for Thursday. From Sarasota, the plane had planned to fly to Treasure Cay International Airport in the Bahamas before returning to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and then to Statesville by evening.
Flight tracking data reviewed by the National Investigative Unit shows the jet departed Statesville Regional at approximately 10:06 am. The jet reached its highest altitude — approximately 2,000 feet — less than two minutes after departure and about a mile from the airport, and then it began to descend.
It continued descending and at approximately 11 miles from the airport, the plane turned back and made an attempt to fly directly back to the airport. The final recorded data point, about nine minutes after takeoff, shows the plane less than a half-mile from the airport near the Lakewood Golf Club about 800 feet of altitude and approximately 109 mph.
On its website, the airport says it provides corporate aviation facilities for Fortune 500 companies and several NASCAR teams. The airport, about 45 miles north of Charlotte, is currently closed.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
