Statesville jet crash kills seven, NTSB reports preliminary details
Read, Watch or Listen
Statesville, N.C. investigators said a Cessna Citation 550 crashed while returning to Statesville Regional Airport on Thursday, killing seven people including former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and six companions. The aircraft departed about 10:05 a.m., made turns indicating a return to the airport roughly five minutes later, and impacted before reaching the runway roughly 10:20 a.m., erupting in fire. The National Transportation Safety Board said a passenger texted "emergency landing," the cockpit voice recorder has been sent to Washington, and wreckage and witness statements are under examination as part of an ongoing investigation. Based on 6 articles reviewed and supporting research.
Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.
Timeline of Events
- Dec. 18, ~10:05 a.m. — Cessna Citation 550 departs Statesville Regional Airport.
- Dec. 18, ~10:10 a.m. — Aircraft reportedly made turns indicating return to the airport.
- Dec. 18, ~10:15–10:20 a.m. — Aircraft impacted before runway and erupted in fire; seven fatalities confirmed.
- Dec. 19 — NTSB held news conference providing preliminary flight-path and recovery details.
- Dec. 20 — Cockpit voice recorder sent to Washington; investigators continued wreckage and witness analysis.
- Articles Published:
- 6
- Right Leaning:
- 2
- Left Leaning:
- 0
- Neutral:
- 4
- Distribution:
- Left 0%, Center 67%, Right 33%
Aviation investigators and safety regulators benefit from recovered evidence and cockpit voice recorder analysis to determine cause and guide safety recommendations.
Families of the victims, including Greg Biffle's relatives, suffered irreparable loss while the local community experienced shock, grief, and trauma.
Coverage of Story:
From Left
No left-leaning sources found for this story.
From Center
Statesville jet crash kills seven, NTSB reports preliminary details
The News-Gazette https://www.wbtv.com abc11 News The News-GazetteFrom Right
Investigation details released in 10-minute flight, crash killing NASCAR's Greg Biffle and 6 more
FOX 35 Orlando Internewscast Journal
Comments