A private jet plunged into the ground and erupted into flames on Thursday morning, December 18 with multiple people feared dead.
A plane crashed at about 10:15 am while it was landing at Statesville Regional Airport.
According to reports, the aircraft had just taken off from the airport but quickly turned back and tried to land before the crash happened.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said there were six people on board the plane.
Officials said the aircraft was owned by GB Aviation Leasing, a company belonging to former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle.
“A Cessna C550 crashed while landing at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina around 10:20 a.m. local time on Thursday, Dec. 18. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation and provide any updates,” the FAA told CNN.
William Hamby, chief deputy for the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office, told The Independent his agency has sent a “Mobile Command Unit to the scene to help with the investigation.”
“The investigation will be conducted by the North Carolina Highway Patrol and the FAA. Our agency was first on scene and reported back the initial information,” he said.
Low clouds, light rain and visibility of less than three miles were reported about 80 minutes after the crash but it is not known whether these conditions were happening at the time of the accident.
Who is Greg Biffle?
Greg Biffle nicknamed "the Biff", is an American professional stock car racing driver who achieved major success early in his career by winning the NASCAR Truck Series championship in 2000 and the Busch Series championship in 2002 before competing full-time in the Cup Series.
