UPDATE — 12/18/25, 2:20 p.m. ET: Greg Biffle, his wife and two kids were all on board his plane when it crashed and resulted in multiple fatalities, according to a family friend.
“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,” Garrett Mitchell wrote via Facebook on Thursday, December 18. “We are devastated. I’m so sorry to share this.”
Mitchell is best known as his social media alter ego Cleetus McFarland, and has been friends with Greg, 55, for years. Greg and Cristina had just run into Mitchell on vacation in the Bahamas in July, per an Instagram post from Greg.
Greg and Cristina got married in January 2023 and share two children: daughter Emma, 14, from Greg’s previous marriage, and son Ryder, 4.
Original story below:
A plane belonging to motorsports legend Greg Biffle crashed and burst into flames on Thursday, December 18, with authorities confirming there are fatalities.
“At approximately 10:15 am, an aircraft crashed while landing,” airport officials said on Thursday, according to The Charlotte Observer. “Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is en route and will investigate the incident.”
The crash happened at Statesville Regional Airport, about a 45-minute drive from Charlotte.
The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office said there are fatalities but could not confirm how many or confirm how many passengers were on board.
According to WSOC-TV, the plane is owned by Biffle, 55.
In a news release, AccuWeather reported weather conditions at the airport were “adverse” at the time of the crash.
“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.,” Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather Vice President of Forecasting Operations explained.
DePodwin added, “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.”
According to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Biffle earned 19 wins in 515 starts and was a runner-up in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2005.
In 2023, Biffle was named one of the 75 best drivers in NASCAR history.
This story is developing…
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