The Iredell County Sheriff said there were deaths Thursday in the crash of a business jet that was trying to land at a regional airport in Statesville, North Carolina.
“I can confirm there were fatalities,” Iredell County Sheriff Grant Campbell said, though he declined to say how many.
Public records confirm that the plane belonged to a company owned by former NASCAR driver and philanthropist Greg Biffle.
The Federal Aviation Administration said a Cessna C550 crashed while landing at Statesville Regional Airport around 10:20 a.m. Thursday. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating. The FAA arrived at the airport around noon to take over the investigation.
There is no word yet about how the crash happened. The airport is closed until further notice for investigation.
Video from WSOC-TV showed first responders rushing onto the runway as flames burned near scattered wreckage from the plane.
The airport’s website states that Statesville Regional Airport offers corporate aviation facilities for Fortune 500 companies and several NASCAR teams.
Statesville is about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of Charlotte.
