Name: Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle killed in plane crash with family
Uploaded: 2025-12-19T00:24:43.296Z
Duration: 4 min 15 s
Description: Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his wife, Cristina, and their kids were killed Thursday in a North Carolina plane crash. Captain Laura Einsetler joins CBS News to discuss the crash.

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his wife, Cristina, and their kids were killed Thursday in a North Carolina plane crash. Captain Laura Einsetler joins CBS News to discuss the crash.

North Carolina

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, along with his wife and two children, died in a plane crash while attempting to land at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina. The incident occurred when their corporate jet crashed off the runway and erupted in flames, with the cause of the crash still under investigation by the FAA and local authorities.

Greg Biffle was recognized as one of NASCAR's 75 greatest drivers and was known for his aviation experience, including humanitarian missions. Officials have not yet determined the cause of the crash, and investigators are examining factors such as maintenance history, pilot experience, and aircraft condition.

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle killed in plane crash with family

All right. I want to get some other breaking news that we're following at this hour, this time out of North Carolina, where retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his wife and Children died in a plane crash. That plane crashed while attempting to land at Statesville Regional Airport. That's about 45 minutes north of Charlotte. As you can see, that jet erupted into a very large fire. North Carolina Representative Richard Hudson confirmed the deaths of Greg Biffle, his wife and their two Children. The retired NASCAR driver first came into the spotlight during the 1995 winter heat series. He went on to be named one of NASCAR's 75 greatest drivers. Now, in the latest update from officials, the airport's director says it does not yet have any information about what caused the crash. Approximately 10 15 a.m. We got a report of a corporate jet that crashed off the end of the runway on the east end. Uh, when actually I came out, it was already fully involved. Uh, we've had multiple agencies, as you said, come. The F. A. A. Arrived about 12 o'clock today. They're taking over the scene. They're taking over the investigation. We have no information on any cause joining us live now is Captain Laura Einstein Settler, a pilot with 30 years of flying experience with a major U. S. Airline. Laura, thank you so much for being with us. Flight tracking data shows the plane departed and then looped back toward the airport. Does that give you any indication about what might have gone wrong here? Investigators are going to be looking at things like, you know, weight and balance maintenance history on the aircraft itself. Uh, the Cessna citations five fifties are excellent aircraft for things like corporate and charter. Uh, so they're gonna be looking at all those different factors that might have made in of an issue in this circumstance. You know, Greg Biffle appears to be a very experienced pilot. In fact, back in 2024 in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Biffle actually used his personal helicopter to deliver aid to those impacted, and he posted videos from some of those flights on social media there. Let's take a listen to that. We took water supply food. Everybody's reaching out for us to try and help him and get him out of there. I will absolutely get anybody out. I can. Now, here you can see Biffle in front of his helicopter there ahead of one of those rescue missions. He said he pulled people to safety, dropped off food and medicine. Knowing Greg Biffle flew so frequently, Laura, how might have he had handled the moments leading up to the crash? Well, that's something that they're gonna be looking at. What kind of condition he was in? Was it a single pilot situation or two pilots, which is always much safer to have always to experience highly trained pilots at the controls at all times. So they're gonna be looking into how things were previously that might have led up maintenance history, things of that nature. I know that this plane was also used for Fortune 500 country companies as well as other NASCAR groups. Lauren, I'm curious. These small planes are there different rules and regulation when it comes to inspection, when it comes to actually flying these smaller planes? Well, each manufacturer of the aircraft have their own set of circumstances and maintenance requirements, things of that nature. And then F. E. A. Requires certain additional requirements for safety when it comes to things like corporate flying, personal flying, things like that. So they'll be looking at all those different factors. Do you find that these planes are just a safe as the bigger planes and when it comes to flying? Well, flying for part 1 21 major airlines, we have even more stricter standards for safety. Obviously, we're carrying hundreds of people at a time. Eso we always in aviation. We learn from events so that we can make sure that things like this never happen again as we go forward to keep that really high safety standard that we have. Captain Laura Einstein. Thank you so much.

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