Three Others Lost In Accident At Statesville Regional Airport, NC

Retired NASCAR star Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina Grossu Biffle, and their daughter Emma and son Ryder, along with three others, died in a plane crash at approximately 10:15 am on December 18, 2025, as Biffle’s aircraft was attempting to return to land at Statesville Regional Airport (KSVH), in Statesville, North Carolina.

It was confirmed that Biffle’s Cessna Citation 550 light jet took off from the airport and almost immediately turned back toward the airport where things turned tragic and it was involved in the accident. All 7 occupants on board were confirmed as deceased. A brief video clip showed the jet engulfed in flames as it appeared to skid along the runway while a large plume of black smoke rose along the aircraft’s trail on the ground.

First Sergeant Chris Knox of the North Carolina Highway Patrol first confirmed the death of the Biffle family, saying it was “one of the worst crashes” he had ever seen. Knox said initially, "We can tell you at this point that seven confirmed occupants on the aircraft are deceased... The only person we can confirm is a Mr. Greg Biffle was one of those seven deceased occupants." However a short time later he said the victims “include Mr. Greg Biffle and his immediate family.”

Garrett Mitchell became close friends with Biffle over the past five years when they both worked on disaster relief efforts and also Garret’s interest in becoming a NASCAR driver. Mitchell is better known as YouTuber Cleetus McFarland, and he stated on his social channels that the Biffle family was aboard the plane.

He posted, “Unfortunately, I can confirm Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma, 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.”

The NTSB is on its way to the scene with a Go Team, and while technical details of the crash are still to be determined, condolences were coming in from legions of Biffle’s competitors and colleagues across NASCAR as well as those he connected with in his disaster relief efforts, particularly after Hurricane Helene. Biffle was a helicopter pilot who flew hundreds of relief flights to western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee following Helene.

Long-time NASCAR announcer Mark Garrow said, “He is certainly one of those guys who will go down in NASCAR history as one of the best. He was a winner. Yes he was a great NASCAR driver, but he was a bigger humanitarian.”

FMI:  www.nascar.com/