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Why Greg Biffle's Cessna crashed on Statesville runway; Expert shares insight
A Cessna C550 owned by Greg Biffle crashed at Statesville Airport, killing all six aboard. FAA and NTSB are probing, with experts citing adverse weather.
A Cessna C550 owned by former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle crashed on the runway at the Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina on Wednesday, leading to deaths of the 55-year-old, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma and son Ryder. CNN reported citing sources that all six people on board died.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) probing the crash and determining a cause could take up to 12 months. But experts are pointing to the weather conditions in Statesville, in North Carolina's Iredell County, at the time of the crash, and questioning if flying was safe.
Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather vice president of Forecasting, posted on the platform that weather conditions was "adverse" around the Statesville Regional Airport when Biffle and his family flew out for their trip to Florida and the Bahamas, as per flight tracking data.
AccuWeather data showed that the skies were cloudy and there was some rainfall at 10:00 a.m. when the plane took off. According to reports, within 15 minutes of takeoff, the plane attempted to land back at the airport at around 10:15 a.m. and crashed on the runway.
“Adverse weather conditions were reported in the vicinity of Statesville Regional Airport around the time of the plane crash," Dan DePodwin of AccuWeather said. "Heavy drizzle and a cloud ceiling near 1,200 feet were reported at 10:15 a.m. The cloud ceiling had reportedly lowered to around 400 feet, with heavy rain reducing visibility to less than 2 miles at 10:30 a.m.
"Weather conditions are often a critical factor that investigators carefully review after a plane crash. It may take months to a year or longer for investigators to determine if the weather conditions contributed to the crash.”
Also read: Greg Biffle net worth: How rich is the NASCAR driver? Contract and other details out
The Biffle Family Was Headed To Cleetus McFarland's Party
Racer Cleetus McFarland, whose real name is Derrick Garland, shared on Facebook that Biffle and his family were on the way to their home in Florida when their plane crashed on Wednesday morning. Flight data of the aircraft showed that it had planned to fly to Florida, followed by the Bahamas, and then a return to Statesville by evening.
"Unfortunately, I can confirm Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, daughter Emma and son Ryder were on the plane...because they were on their way to spend the afternoon with us," McFarland, aka Garett Mitchell, wrote. "We are devastated. I'm so sorry to share this."
