NC - Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle-owned plane crashes at Statesville Regional Airport,18 December 2025 *7 dead*

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sds71

sds71

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Confirmed by county officials that he, his wife and 2 children were on the plane and all perished. He was the pilot
:(
 
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Justice101 said:
Confirmed by county officials that he, his wife and 2 children were on the plane and all perished. He was the pilot
:(
Click to expand...
They were the only ones onboard?
 
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www.wcnc.com

NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, family among 7 killed in Statesville plane crash

North Carolina Highway Patrol confirmed Greg Biffle was among seven people killed in a plane crash at the Statesville airport.
www.wcnc.com www.wcnc.com

Former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace posted that Craig Wadsworth, a longtime figure in the NASCAR community, was on the plane. Wallace shared a photo of Wadsworth, saying he drove Wallace's motorhome for six years.
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So according to the family friend listed as a source on multiple sites,

Greg, his wife Cristina, his daughter Emma and his son Ryder, were all on board. Kenny Wallace says Craig Wadsworth was on board too.

Cnn says there was 5 passengers and 1 pilot. Greg has a pilots license, so either he flew and there was a 5th passenger, or there was a different pilot and Greg was passenger #5


people.com

Greg Biffle's Friend Says NASCAR Champion, Wife and Kids Were on Plane That Crashed with Multiple Fatalities

NASCAR driver Greg Biffle's friend Garrett Mitchell said it was Biffle and his wife and son Ryder and daughter Emma on the plane that crashed in North Carolina on Thursday, Dec. 18.
people.com people.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/2001728457395572847
 
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Seven people were killed when a small plane crashed while landing at a regional airport in North Carolina, according to officials. The victims included former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and several members of his family.

bnonews.com

Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle among 7 killed in North Carolina plane crash

Seven people were killed when a small plane crashed while landing at a regional airport in North Carolina, according to officials. The victims included former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and several members of his family. The crash occurred at around 10:20 a.m. on Thursday at Statesville Regional...
bnonews.com bnonews.com
 
  • #13
This hit hard, Greg Biffle was so well regarded among all the Nascar folks with planes I ever ran across and he had a wonderful family. It's too early and would be unfair to specultate what happened right now.

Dennis Dutton was likely the pilot. Based on his ratings which were impressive, he's likely a retired airline captain, but he's in his late 60's. Can't rule out a medical event (I'm 67 and even though my heart is in great shape I always fly with a pilot rated pal if my family is on board). But it sounds like something happened after takeoff and they had to return for landing. Weather was above minimums for the ILS approach but that's specific to a runway and not sure from the info available if that's the runway they were trying to land on.

Not sure who the copilot was. Some earlier, smaller Citations (Citation I/SP (501) and Citation II/SP (551) are certified Part 23 for single-pilot use, while many other 500-series jets (like the original II/V) can operate single-pilot with an FAA SP Waiver, with completion of specific pilot experience and training. Mr. Biffle wasn't instrument rated, and didn't have a Second in Command type rating for the CE500 so he wouldn't have been flying in either seat. Jack Dutton had a private license for single engine aircraft, so not qualified as copilot in that airplane (he could occupy the seat as a passenger). Wadsworth had a commercial license (not airline transport) but wasn't rated in the Citation. That's assuming the FAA records are current, sometimes if one has taken a checkride for a new rating it can take a couple weeks to show up on the public database at www.faa.gov.

Whatever the cause, a true tragedy all the way around. My heart goes out to their loved ones and especially Emma's Mom.
 
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DBM
 
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Update on the licensed pilots on board. Mr. Dutton Senior required a Second in Command to fly the CE500, so he would have had to have a copilot that met the limitations of FAR 61.65. Mr. Biffle did not meet that, Mr. Wadsworth MIGHT have, had he the required training and take offs and landings in the aircraft type or simulator for it. Jack Dutton didn't meet the qualifications but I'm thinking "Jack" might be a nickname for "John", if so there are enough John Duttons in the database I can't say what the actual individuals qualifications were if John was his legal first name. www.faa.gov
 
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Cathy Grossu said she and her daughter were texting "all day long," including during the flight.

"Then she said something like 'We're in trouble, emergency landing.' And I texted back, 'What's wrong with the plane?'" Grossu told CBS News. "Then the next thing was (the SOS alert) that you get from your automatic Apple phones when you have an accident or something. And so I knew that something was wrong.

www.cbsnews.com

Greg Biffle's wife texted "we're in trouble" moments before fiery plane crash, her mother says

Cathy Grossu, the mother-in-law of retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, said she had seen the family a day before the fatal crash.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com
 
  • #18
A little more info on the crew and the crew requirements. Mr. Dutton Sr. was likely the Pilot in Command. He was very experienced as he should be having retired as an airline pilot (airlines require pilots to retire at 65). and was qualified as a PIC in the Citation, however he was required by his certification to have a qualified Second in Command on board (a few Citations can be flown single pilot but there's training and a checkride specific to that which he didn't have).

There is a Craig Wadsworth in the faa system with a commercial license for light planes, but according to the NTSB statement only 3 of the persons on board had a pilots license, Mr. Dutton Sr., his son Jack and Mr. Biffle. So the Mr. Wadsworth on board, likely wasn't a pilot. Mr. Biffle wasn't rated to fly on instruments so he couldn't have been the second in command - period. The son Jack had a private pilot license with single engine land and instrument rating. To be a SIC for an aircraft REQUIRING two pilots you could fly with a private license if you weren't being compensated for it, nor the passengers being charged, but you STILL have to be certified in the category and class Airplane MULTI ENGINE land. He was not. They were on their way to the Bahamas. Unless they were picking up another pilot in Florida the Second in command would have had to have a Type Rating as SIC to fly internationally. Neither 20 year old Jack Dutton or Greg Biffle did.

In addition to just the license qualifications which appear to be lacking - FAR 91.55 also requires training and takeoffs and landings as PIC in the airplane or simulator and specific trianing by a qualified instructor in procedures outlined in the regulation.

I truly hope there's just been a massive miscommunication somewhere as to who was flying, because honestly, in my opinion, if Jack Dutton was the co pilot on this airplane this is the legal equivalent of "take your kid to work day". He was NOT legally certified to be in that seat with passengers. even if doing it for "free" and his father the PIC was not a licensed instructor.
 
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So I maybe able to bring in at least some knowledge, I have worked in aviation for 10 years now and for the last year I have worked in general aviation and have worked on many Cessna Citations. From what I have been hearing and reading in the industry, to me it sounds like this crash should have NEVER HAPPENED. In fact, theirs a video by Dan Gryder and I will post the link, but it sounds like Jack Dutton made a call on UNICOM that they were returning to the airport because they had a rough engine. Its already been noted several times that he should have never been at the controls, so why he made this call is beyond me.


Something else to note, this aircraft was at its max ACL and its not designed to make a tight turn on one engine and land, the aircraft will simply run out of energy so to speak and thats what we see here. To me, what they should have done was made a climb to 3 thousand and then land at Charlotte, why they did not do this, we will never know.

 
  • #20
AirForceVet24 said:
So I maybe able to bring in at least some knowledge, I have worked in aviation for 10 years now and for the last year I have worked in general aviation and have worked on many Cessna Citations. From what I have been hearing and reading in the industry, to me it sounds like this crash should have NEVER HAPPENED. In fact, theirs a video by Dan Gryder and I will post the link, but it sounds like Jack Dutton made a call on UNICOM that they were returning to the airport because they had a rough engine. Its already been noted several times that he should have never been at the controls, so why he made this call is beyond me.


Something else to note, this aircraft was at its max ACL and its not designed to make a tight turn on one engine and land, the aircraft will simply run out of energy so to speak and thats what we see here. To me, what they should have done was made a climb to 3 thousand and then land at Charlotte, why they did not do this, we will never know.

Click to expand...
Thanks @AirForceVet24 . I've already commented on how and why Jack Dutton should have never been allowed as the legally required Second in Command on this airplane. I'm type rated on the CE500 (19000 hours corporate jet and FAR 121 air carrier time including APD status before joining The Dark Side). To get the single pilot endorsement (the plane has to have some specific qualifications as well), requires a formal checkride as such, which Mr. Dutton Sr. didn't have, He required a qualified SIC not a single engine land only private pilot.

The Citation WILL fly just fine on one engine provided you're not overweight or out of center of gravity. But you obviously would need to limit all low altitude and/or steep turns in single engine configuration. I've lost an engine right at rotation (VR) in a Sabre 80 (the CF700 engine which just hated us as a general rule) and we did what we were trained to do as a crew in the full motion simulator. We cleaned it up, ran all the checklists, didn't get in a hurry to land VFR (it was scuddy weather, though legally VFR) and came back around slowly with low bank angle vectors from ATC around to an ILS, committing to full flaps and gear when landing was assured. It was surprisingly without fuss. But if you are not trained as a crew for that, it's easy to get in a hurry and that's likely what happened here. One person has to run the checklists and program the approach (which avionics wise, would require some formal training) the other has to fly.

There's been some talk (unofficial) as to perhaps a nose bag door coming open (and departing the fix as they say) which could have (1) increased drag and/or (2) possibly FOD'd out the engine. Was that the "pop" reported on takeoff? A rushed preflight? But I've not seen anything other than jsut ametuer speculation. Being retired I don't have the access to the same records (I couldn't ethically comment if I did) so I don't know any more than you all do. - Grace
 
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