Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his wife, and their two children were killed Thursday morning when a private jet owned by Biffle crashed at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina, according to a statement from a family associate, as reported by Fox News.
The aircraft, a Cessna C550 bearing tail number N257BW, went down at approximately 10:15 a.m. while departing Statesville Regional Airport.
The plane was en route to Bradenton, Florida, when it crashed shortly after takeoff at the airport located about 45 miles north of Charlotte.
BREAKING: A small aircraft has crashed at #Statesville Regional Airport north of Charlotte, North Carolina. We are working to learn more. pic.twitter.com/60i0L1bqNv
— Kaitlin Wright (@wxkaitlin) December 18, 2025
Confirmation that Biffle and his family were on board and died in the crash came from Garrett Mitchell, widely known as YouTuber Cleetus McFarland, who said the family had been traveling to visit him.
“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. We are devastated. I’m so sorry to share this,” Mitchell said.
NASCAR champion Greg Biffle, his wife, daughter, and son have died in a plane crash in North Carolina, according to YouTuber Garrett Mitchell.
Mitchell says the Biffle family was headed to spend the afternoon with him.
“Unfortunately, I can confirm Greg Biffle, his wife… pic.twitter.com/qNffOwDVzQ
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) December 18, 2025
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Local authorities confirmed that there were fatalities but declined to release the identities of the victims or the total number of people on board.
The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office is overseeing the response, with the Federal Aviation Administration later assuming control of the scene.
The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to lead the investigation into the cause of the crash.
Airport officials held a brief press conference around noon. Statesville Regional Airport manager John Ferguson described the initial response and conditions at the scene.
“Like we said, at approximately 10:15 a.m., we got a report of a jet that crashed off the end of the runway on the east end. By time I came out, it was fully engulfed. We’ve had multiple agencies that have come. The FAA arrived at about 12 o’clock today,” Ferguson said.
“They are taking over the scene and the investigation. We have no information on the cause. The airport is closed until further notice. It will take time to get the debris off the runway,” he added.
The aircraft was quickly identified through federal aviation records as being owned by GB Aviation Leasing LLC, a company owned by Biffle.
Weather conditions in the area at the time of the crash may become a focus of the investigation. According to an AccuWeather update, adverse weather was reported around Statesville Regional Airport during the incident.
Heavy drizzle and a cloud ceiling near 1,200 feet were reported at 10:15 a.m., with the ceiling reportedly lowering to around 400 feet by 10:30 a.m.
Visibility was reduced to less than two miles due to heavy rain. Investigators typically review weather as part of aviation accident probes, which can take months or longer to complete.
Biffle, 55, was a well-known figure in American motorsports.
I’m sure there’s 1,000,000 other posts out there but it cannot be stated how vital Greg Biffle was in organizing the western NC Helene relief effort which was among one of the largest civilian humanitarian missions ever on American soil.
The world didn’t just lose a NASCAR… pic.twitter.com/crmNXCjFPT
— ☈ Chris Jackson ☈ (@ChrisJacksonSC) December 18, 2025
He won the NASCAR Busch Series championship in 2002, the Craftsman Truck Series championship in 2000, and was named one of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023.
Over his Cup Series career, Biffle recorded 19 wins between 2002 and sporadic starts in later years.
The crash has sent shockwaves through the racing community and beyond, as investigators continue working to determine what caused the fatal accident.
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