Retired Nascar driver Greg Biffle and family among 7 killed in US plane crash
Business jet erupted into flames when it hit the ground while trying to land at Statesville Regional Airport, North Carolina
A business jet crashed on Thursday while trying to return to a North Carolina airport shortly after take-off, killing all seven people aboard, including retired Nascar driver Greg Biffle and his family, authorities said.
The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground. It had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about 72km (45 miles) north of Charlotte, but soon crashed while trying to return and land, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.
Flight records show the plane was registered to a company run by Biffle. The cause of the crash was not immediately known, nor was the reason for the plane’s return to the airport in drizzle and cloudy conditions.
Federal Aviation Administration records show Biffle was rated to fly helicopters and single and multi-engine planes. It was not clear if Biffle was piloting the plane at the time of the crash.
Biffle was on the plane with his wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, according to the highway patrol and a family statement. Others on the plane were identified as Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth.