911 audio has been released from the plan crash that killed NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his family, and three others. (Photo Credit: ABC11 / TikTok, Facebook)
A Plane Crash In North Carolina Took The Lives Of 7 People On December 18th
A Cessna C550 business jet owned by former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle crashed at the Statesville Regional Airport north of Charlotte, North Carolina around 10:20 a.m. on Thursday, December 18th.
Initial reports did not name how many passengers were inside, but as time went on, we learned seven individuals had passed away in the fiery crash: Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, his daughter Emma, his and Cristina’s son Ryder, as well as Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth.
According to FlightAware data, the plane had turned around and was attempting to land back at the airport shortly after takeoff.
In a statement to PEOPLE, Cristina Biffle’s mother, Cathy Grossu, shared that moments before the crash, she received a text from her daughter that simply read, “We’re in trouble.”
The plane erupted in flames, which can be seen from multiple videos. Watch a clip of the aftermath below.
@abc11news Several people are dead after a small private jet crashed shortly after takeoff in Statesville, North Carolina, according to a local sheriff’s office official. Link in bio.
911 Audio Was Just Released
On January 7th, officials released the audio of the four 911 calls that were made about the plane crash.
All the witnesses reported seeing “heavy black smoke” after a “plane went down on Runway 28” shortly after 10 AM, according to People.
A female caller said, “We have a plane crash at the end of runway 28 and a big fire. I do know there’s at least two pilots, at least, probably four passengers. There’s a lot of black smoke.”
Two men at the nearby golf course also called 911.
“I work here at the golf course, and I just watched them come over the fairway and crash,” the first said.
Another person at the golf course called and said, “We just had a plane fly over our heads and crash into the tree line. We just had a huge explosion near the runway out here. Near hole one, it came from the tree line to our right, flew right over our heads and split the tree line by hole nine and went straight downwards, and a huge explosion. I don’t know if the guy’s okay.”
The fourth caller’s audio described a “fireball.”
“It looks like the plane’s down and burning,” he said. “Pretty good-size fireball. A lot of black smoke, whoever was on the plane probably did not make it, it’s a big fireball. It looks like it made it to the runway … fully engulfed small jet, private jet. There’s nobody alive. Yeah, there’s no way they could have survived it.”
The NTSB is still investigating the crash, and still hasn’t revealed who was flying the plane, though new reports say they believe they know who was sitting in the pilot seat. Three people on board had their pilot license.
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