Reports from Statesville, North Carolina Thursday morning stated a plane crash in the regional landing spot. Flames were visible after a loud noise around 10:32 am. While many wondered who the Cessna C550 business with tail number N257BW belonged to, updates cleared that it was owned by ex-NASCAR driver Greg Biffle. The next question, naturally, was if he was abord the flight. However, Biffle’s friend and YouTuber who is a part-time NASCAR driver has confirmed that the legend was indeed on the plane.

Garrett Mitchell, also known as Cletus McFarland wrote on Facebook, “Unfortunately, I can confirm Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, and son Ryder were on that plane… because they were on their way to spend the afternoon with us. We are devastated. I’m so sorry to share this.”

An investigation into the accident is already underway with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board. According to them, the Cessna C550 was scheduled to fly to Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport from Statesville. It took off at 10.06 am but only traveled 29 miles before it made a U-turn to return to the landing spot. Apparently, there were technical issues with the vertical speed of the plane, and a loud noise was heard. It crashed while attempting to land at Statesville.

Further updates revealed that there were a total of seven victims in the crash, including Biffle, his wife, Cristina, his 5-year-old son, and Biffle’s daughter from another marriage, Emma (14). Additionally, Dennis Dutton and his son Jack, with pilot Craig Wadsworth, a member of the NASCAR community, were also present.

For now, both technical reasons and weather conditions need to be studied to understand what really went wrong.

“NASCAR is devastated by the tragic loss of Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma, son Ryder, Craig Wadsworth, and Dennis and Jack Dutton in a fatal plane crash,” NASCAR said in a statement.

The 55-year-old Biffle is best known for being the 2000 Truck Series champion and the 2002 Busch Series champion. He has 19 wins to his name and finished runner-up in the 2005 Cup Series campaign. He won NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers for NASCAR’s 75th anniversary in 2023.

Away from the race track, long after retiring, he has been hailed as a national hero. He has often participated in rescue and relief missions in his helicopter during times of natural disaster.

How crucial was Biffle’s aid during disasters?

Back when Hurricane Helene had struck the US, many people were left devastated, including Biffle’s family friend. Then, Greg Biffle used the helicopter license that he acquired in the early 2000s to rescue them. While by the time he got there, another pilot rescued them first, Biffle continued to help others.

With his team, Biffle flew for days to help people trapped in remote areas. Aside from rescue missions, he also served as a runner for supplies.

“It’s been busy, a lot of seat time in the helicopter, more than I ever would have imagined in my life,” He said at the time. “But it feels good to be able to get supplies and things in need into these people that need the help the most, that are still cut off.”

Owing to his efforts, the National Motorsports Press Association awarded Biffle the Myers Brothers Award. Long after his bravery, he and his wife continued their philantrophic efforts. But yesterday, America lost a genuine hero.