Motorsports
‘Emergency landing’ text sent before plane crash that killed Greg Biffle, 6 others, NTSB confirms
Emily Mikkelsen and Michaela Ratliff
STATESVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — Officials offered an update Saturday after a deadly plane crash that claimed the life of NASCAR star Greg Biffle and six other people, including his children, on Thursday morning.
The Statesville Regional Airport confirmed a crash just after 10 a.m. Thursday on social media.
NASCAR said that the seven people who died in the crash were Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina Grossu, their son Ryder Jack and his daughter from a previous marriage Emma Elizabeth. Craig Wadsworth, as well as Dennis Dutton and his son Jack Dutton, were also killed in the crash.
The NTSB says a preliminary report should be available within 30 days, but a full report will take closer to a year.
During a conference on Friday, the NTSB said that initial findings showed that the plane took off, turned west and then turned again, back towards the airport. It was flying low, according to witnesses, and then it hit the approach lighting at the airport and trees before coming to rest near a runway and catching fire. The debris field is described as very large and scattered. The crash happened about ten minutes after takeoff.
At Saturday’s conference, officials confirmed that they still do not know the cause of the crash.
“We do not know the circumstances which led the aircraft… to attempt to return to the airport, but that is the focus of our investigation,” officials said.
They also confirmed that a text reading “Emergency landing” was sent from someone on the plane.
“I can confirm that the NTSB is aware of one brief text from a passenger on board the aircraft to a family member that read, and I quote, ‘Emergency landing.’”
“We are not aware of any other communications from passengers on board the aircraft to those on the ground.”
The NTSB also says that at this time, it does not know who the pilot of the plane was.
You can watch the news conference in the video player above.