HAUNTING details have emerged about the deadly plane crash that killed NASCAR legend Greg Biffle and six others, including his wife and children.

The National Transportation Safety Board has released its preliminary report into the fiery crash in North Carolina on December 18.

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Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina Grossu Biffle, and their children Emma and Jack were among those killed in the crashCredit: Insatagram/cristinagbiffle
 


The Cessna C550 was returning to Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina when it plummeted to the ground and caught fireCredit: X/nick_dudley
 


National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators have released a preliminary reportCredit: Reuters
Biffle, his wife Cristina, their children Emma, 14, and Ryder, 5, were killed in the incident, alongside family friends Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and Craig Wadsworth.

The former NASCAR driver’s Cessna C550 plummeted to the ground and burst into flames shortly after departing Statesville Regional Airport at around 10.15am ET.

Investigators say the jet took off, heading for Sarasota, Florida, before suddenly turning back and going down as it tried to land.

While Biffle held a private pilot license and flew both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, the 8-page preliminary report from the NTSB has revealed that he was not at the controls at the time of the crash.

Instead, it was Dennis Dutton and his son Jack who were in the cockpit.

However, Dutton, who was a qualified pilot, was only cleared to fly the Cessna with a co-pilot also qualified to fly the CE-500.

His son Jack, 20, who was in the co-pilot seat in the cockpit was not certified despite having some flying experience.

“The right seat passenger was not qualified to perform second in command duties,” the report reads, as a result, the plane was being operated illegally.


Dennis Dutton and his son Jack were flying the Cessna at the time of the crash with Jack not being qualified to co-pilot the jetCredit: Instagram / jack99938
It also noted that despite Biffle’s qualifications, he too was not certified to fly the jet.

However, the report also revealed other issues that likely played a factor in the tragedy.

“We’re having some issues here,” Jack said on the radio minutes before the crash.

The NTSB found that there was increasingly poor visibility and cockpit malfunctions.

A thrust reverser indicator light failed before takeoff and once in the air, the altimeter and other instruments also failed.

Another issue that has been discovered by investigators is that the cockpit recorder repeatedly cut out so they do not have commentary of all the moments leading up to the crash.

There was no evidence of engine or structural failures, the report noted.

“All I know is that there was a large, loud pop, like something broke on the plane at takeoff, and he immediately had to turn around and make an emergency landing,”Dennis Dutton’s former neighbor, Jonathan Donahue, previously told The U.S. Sun.

The Cessna Citation jet climbed sharply, then abruptly turned back toward the airport before clipping light poles, smashing into a tree line, and exploded less than a mile from the runway.

No definitive cause has yet been given for the crash.

It is unlikely one will be released until the final report is written which could be as late as 2027 pending further investigation.


While Biffle was an experienced pilot, he was not certified to fly the Cessna and was not in the cockpit on that flightCredit: AP