01/30/26 02:39:00
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01/30 14:38 CST NASCAR's Greg Biffle wasn't flying his plane before crash that
killed him and 6 others
NASCAR's Greg Biffle wasn't flying his plane before crash that killed him and 6
others
By JOSH FUNK
AP Transportation Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) --- Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle was not flying his own
jet when it crashed last month, killing him and six others, according to a
Friday report from federal safety officials who also concluded that while an
experienced pilot was at the controls, no one else on board was qualified to be
the required copilot.
The preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board said that
Biffle and the retired airline pilot at the controls, Dennis Dutton, and his
son Jack all noticed problems with gauges malfunctioning on the Cessna C550
before it crashed while trying to return to the Statesville Regional Airport in
North Carolina.
The NTSB made clear that Jack Dutton was sitting in the copilot seat. Neither
Jack Dutton nor Biffle had the right endorsement on their pilot's licenses to
serve as a copilot on that plane, but it's not clear whether that played any
role in the crash. The report said that a thrust reverser indicator light
wasn't working before takeoff, but after the plane got into the air, the
pilot's altimeter and some other instruments weren't working.
The nature of the problems with the plane isn't clear at this stage in the
investigation, partly because the cockpit voice recorder cut out at times and
NTSB experts have only just begun to dig into what caused the crash. Over the
radio, Jack Dutton announced, "we're having some problems here" and the cockpit
recorder captured part of the conversation about the issues with the plane.
Biffle's wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, were killed in
the crash along with his friend, Craig Wadsworth.
Biffle, 55, won more than 50 races across NASCAR's three circuits, including 19
at the Cup Series level. He also won the Trucks Series championship in 2000 and
the Xfinity Series title in 2002.
In 2024, Biffle was honored for his humanitarian efforts after Hurricane Helene
struck the U.S., even using his personal helicopter to deliver aid to flooded,
remote western North Carolina.
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