NTSB Report Details Citation 550 Crash That Killed Greg Biffle

The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report on the fatal Dec. 18, 2025, crash of a Cessna Citation 550 near Statesville Regional Airport, North Carolina. The accident claimed the lives of retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his wife, two children and three other passengers.

The report details engine-start problems during preflight, subsequent failures of left-side instruments, and reveals that the right-seat occupant was not qualified as a second-in-command or for the Citation type. The aircraft departed at about 10:06 a.m. for Sarasota, Florida, under visual flight rules. At 10:10 a.m., pilot Dennis Dutton reported a faulty altitude indicator and left-side instrument failures, then handed control to his son Jack Dutton, who had only 175.3 single-engine hours and no Citation single-pilot exemption.

An attempted return to Statesville in deteriorating VFR conditions was unsuccessful. The aircraft crashed short of the runway threshold at 1,240 feet MSL, striking an approach light and fence before catching fire. The cockpit voice recorder audio was recovered in poor condition and required extensive restoration. No flight data recorder was aboard, as none was required for this aircraft type. The NTSB has not assigned a probable cause; a final report is expected in 12-18 months.