NASCAR’s Mark Martin Describes Greg Biffle’s Fatal Plane Crash as ‘Disturbing’
The tragic passing of Greg Biffle and his family in a plane crash in North Carolina on Thursday, December 18, continues to leave the racing community in shock and searching for answers.
For former NASCAR driver Mark Martin, a seasoned pilot, his frustration is growing.
“Having been a Citation pilot for two decades and undergone approximately 75 days of [Flight Safety International] training with over 3000 hours of flight time, I possess extensive knowledge regarding these aircraft and their performance,” Martin, age 66, expressed via X on Monday, December 22. “The more I uncover about Biffle’s crash, the more unsettling it becomes.”
In a subsequent post, he shared two photos of himself with Biffle, aged 55.
“Each day, I feel more and more unwell about this tragedy,” he wrote alongside the images.
Biffle, his wife Cristina, their 14-year-old daughter, Emma, and 5-year-old son, Ryder, were tragically among seven individuals who perished when a Cessna Citation 550, owned by Biffle, crashed shortly after taking off from Statesville Regional Airport. The other victims included pilot Dennis Dutton, his son Jack, and NASCAR motorhome driver Craig Wadsworth. The reasons for the plane’s return and the identity of the pilot at the time remain uncertain.
“I can’t help but feel anger,” Martin shared in another post. “While aviation is generally a safe mode of travel, it has historically exacted a heavy toll on our racing community and its families.”
As Martin pointed out, NASCAR has faced numerous aviation tragedies and near misses over the years. In 2019, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family experienced a “bounced landing” when their aircraft, also departing from Statesville Regional Airport, skidded off a runway in Tennessee but they managed to escape before the plane caught fire.
In 2004, a Hendrick Motorsports aircraft crashed into a mountainside in Virginia, claiming 10 lives. In 1985, Richie Panch, the son of Daytona 500 champion Marvin Panch, tragically lost his life when his plane disintegrated mid-air due to turbulence in South Carolina.
Jack Roush, co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, stands out as a prominent figure who has remarkably survived multiple plane crashes. His most recent accident occurred in 2010 when he crashed his jet during landing in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Although he sustained serious injuries and was hospitalized, he returned to the racetrack just three weeks later.
Statesville Regional Airport reopened on Sunday, December 21. National Transportation Safety Board member Michael Graham provided an update on the investigation the day prior.
“Our representative from the National Transportation Safety Board disaster assistance division is actively working with the families of those lost in this tragic accident,” he stated during a press conference. “I want to express my gratitude to the family members assisting our team during this difficult time.”
Graham further noted, “We are still determining the circumstances that led the aircraft to return to the airport, which is our primary focus in this investigation. Early information from multiple sources indicates the airplane was stable during its approach, configured to land with landing lights on, but was coming in low.”
