Former NASCAR Driver Greg Biffle, Household Members Amongst 7 Killed in Airplane Crash

[ad_1] Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and members of his household have been amongst seven individuals who died in a airplane crash Thursday in North Carolina, state police stated.

The enterprise jet erupted into a big fireplace when it hit the bottom whereas making an attempt to land at Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles north of Charlotte.

Flight data present the airplane was registered to an organization run by Biffle.

"Though the post-crash fireplace prevents us from releasing a definitive record of the occupants at the moment, it's believed that Mr. Gregory Biffle and members of his fast household have been occupants of the airplane," state police stated.

Biffle, 55, received greater than 50 races throughout NASCAR’s three circuits, together with 19 on the Cup Sequence stage. He additionally received the Vehicles Sequence championship in 2000 and the Xfinity Sequence title in 2002.

"We're devastated by the lack of our family members. This tragedy has left all of our households heartbroken past phrases," members of the households stated in a joint assertion. "Every of them meant all the pieces to us, and their absence leaves an immeasurable void in our lives.

"We're grateful for the kindness and assist that has been prolonged to our households throughout this extremely troublesome time."

Golfers taking part in subsequent to the airport have been shocked as they witnessed the catastrophe, even dropping to the bottom on the Lakewood Golf Membership whereas the airplane was overhead. The ninth gap was coated with particles.

"We have been like, ‘Oh my gosh! That’s manner too low,’" stated Joshua Inexperienced of Mooresville. "It was scary."

The Nationwide Transportation Security Board and the FAA have been investigating. AccuWeather says there was some drizzle and clouds on the time of the crash.

The airplane took off from the airport shortly after 10 a.m. however then returned and was making an attempt to land there, in keeping with monitoring information posted by FlightAware.com.

The airplane had deliberate to fly later from Sarasota, Florida, to Treasure Cay Worldwide Airport within the Bahamas earlier than returning to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, after which to Statesville by night, information confirmed.

Video from WSOC-TV confirmed first responders speeding onto the runway as flames burned close to scattered wreckage from the airplane. The airport’s web site states that it presents company aviation services for Fortune 500 corporations and several other NASCAR groups.

With 2025 nearly over, there have been 1,331 U.S. crashes this 12 months investigated by the NTSB, from two-seat planes to industrial plane, in comparison with a complete of 1,482 in 2024.

Main air disasters around the globe in 2025 embody the plane-helicopter collision that killed 67 in Washington, the Air India crash that killed 260 in India, and a crash in Russia’s Far East that claimed 48 lives. Fourteen individuals, together with 11 on the bottom, died in a UPS cargo airplane crash in Kentucky.