Associated PressMultiple AuthorsJan 30, 2026, 03:38 PM ET
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 and that after the plane got into the air, the pilot’s altimeter and some other instruments also weren’t working.
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.
Hundreds of people in the NASCAR community gathered at an arena in Charlotte earlier this month to honor Biffle at a public memorial service.
The plane’s speed and altitude fluctuated significantly during the brief flight. At one point, the plane quickly soared from 1,800 feet (550 meters) up to 4,000 feet (1,220 meters) before descending again. Just before the crash, it was only a couple of hundred feet off the ground. Experts said its path was consistent with a flight crew that experienced an issue and needed to return quickly.
WASHINGTON — 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 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.