An airplane, which was confirmed to be a Cessna 550 Citation, owned by GB Aviation, a company owned by former NASCAR legend Greg Biffle and based out of Mooresville, North Carolina, crashed on Thursday morning at Statesville Regional Airport.
A report from the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office confirmed fatalities in the crash, but the number of fatalities and the identities of the victims have not been disclosed at this time.
According to Brad Panovich, Chief Meteorologist at WCNC, this morning, the plane took off from Statesville Regional Airport and immediately turned around. It would crash during an attempted landing around 10:15 AM ET.
The aircraft reported engine trouble shortly after taking off and was attempting to land back at the airport. After crashing, the aircraft burst into flames.
A 12:30 PM ET press release with officials from the Statesville Regional Airport didn’t reveal any additional undisclosed information other than it’s expected that the investigation will take some time.
John Fergusson, the Statesville Regional Airport Director, confirmed that multiple agencies have arrived at the scene and that the active investigation of the crash has been taken over by the Federal Aviation Administration.
While the identities of those on board the aircraft have yet to be officially announced, Garrett Mitchell (known as Cleetus McFarland in racing circles), posted confirmation on his personal Facebook account at 1:25 PM ET that Biffle, his wife Cristina, and two children Emma and Ryder, were on the plane as they were heading to Freedom Factory, a racetrack in Bradenton, Florida, owned by Mitchell.
“Unfortunately, I can confirm Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma, and son Ryder were on that plane… because they were on their way to spend the afternoon with us,” Mitchell wrote. “We are devastated. I’m so sorry to share this.”
Again, this statement from Mitchell remains unconfirmed by officials at the Statesville Regional Airport. It should also be noted that if the Biffle family were on board the plane, that doesn’t necessarily confirm they are among the fatalities reported in the crash.
This story is developing and will be updated as more details become available.
