NASCAR legend Greg Biffle was not piloting his private jet when it tragically crashed last month in North Carolina, killing him and his family, federal investigators revealed in a preliminary crash report on Jan. 30.
Biffle, 55, was one of seven people on board the Cessna Citation C550 business jet who died while landing in Statesville, North Carolina at 10:15 a.m. on Dec. 18, 2025.
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined well-qualified retired airline pilot Dennis Dutton was piloting the jet.
Dutton’s son Jack was seated as second-in-command in the cockpit and had 175 flight hours in single-engine airplanes but was not qualified to fill that role, according to the NTSB. Despite the lack of certification, Jack Dutton was the one to notice problems with gauges and lights and worked to contact air traffic control about the plane’s issues.
Biffle, who was a certified private pilot and helicopter pilot, was seated behind the pilot and engaged in the action as the three navigated the plane back to the airport.
The initial report describes faulty cockpit voice recordings, but didn’t yet conclude what caused the plane to crash. Safety officials appeared to rule out engine trouble as a leading cause.
“There was no evidence of uncontained engine failure with either engine,” the NTSB reported.
The plane departed about 10 a.m. for Sarasota, Florida. The plane initially climbed and turned left after takeoff, reaching about 2,200 feet in elevation and began to descend.
Communications between the pilots inside the cockpit noted a difference between the left and right engines.
Some audio was captured during the short time in the air, but much of it was unintelligible because of severe degradation of audio quality, according to investigators.
About eight minutes into the flight, the plane made a 180-degree turn back toward the airport.
Some gauges malfunctioned, and the pilot made remarks indicating flight instruments may not have been working properly, according to the report.
About a minute before impact, the Dutton’s son radioed air traffic control, saying in part, “We’re having some issues here.”
A rear passenger asked the pilot about powering an “alternator,” but the model of airplane they were in did not have an alternator, the NTSB noted. The pilots discussed extending the landing gear.
About four seconds later, audio quality returned to previous levels and the pilot commented there was a problem but didn’t specify what it was.
The plane was short of the runway when it hit the ground, according to the report. The first point of impact was a light pole near the runway before the plane hit trees and burst into flames.
Biffle’s wife, Cristina, daughter Emma, and son Ryder were also on the plane.
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