Cessna C550 business jet crashed near Statesville, 7 killed

A business jet crashed on Thursday while trying to return to a North Carolina airport shortly after takeoff, killing all seven people aboard, including retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family, authorities said.

The Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground. It had departed Statesville Regional Airport, about 72



kilometres north of Charlotte, but soon crashed while trying to return and land, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.

Flight records show the plane was registered to a company run by Biffle. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known, nor was the reason for the plane’s return to the airport in drizzle and cloudy conditions.