Greg Biffle plane crash: NTSB report indicates Biffle was not flying plane, co-pilot ‘not qualified’ to fly Cessna Citation 550

The National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report into the plane crash that killed former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his family and three others says Biffle was not flying the plane, which was owned by his GB Aviation Leasing LLC company, when the crash happened on Dec. 18.

According to reports released Friday, the plane was flown by Dennis Dutton, a pilot certified to operate several commercial aircraft, with his son, Jack, in the right cockpit seat. Biffle, a licensed pilot with “civil flight experience that includes 3,500 hours of flight time,” was seated behind the two and identified in the report as the rear passenger.

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However, Biffle and Jack Dutton were not licensed to fly the Cessna Citation. The report notes that Dennis Dutton was licensed to fly the Citation with the second-in-command on board, and that although Jack Dutton was a pilot himself, he was “not qualified to fly second-in-command duties,” according to the NTSB, because he had more than 175 hours of experience in single-engine aircraft.

Ross Eimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Expert, told Yahoo Sports that Jack Dutton’s lack of qualifications was “problematic” and that the plane needed two pilots.

“In this particular case, because it required two pilots, and neither of them — Biffle or the young person — were qualified, they had to have a licensed pilot in that seat,” Eimer said.

Biffle, his wife Christina, their son Ryder, Biffle’s daughter Emma, ​​Denise and Jack Dutton, and Craig Wadsworth were aboard the plane as it attempted to land at Statesville (North Carolina) Regional Airport shortly after taking off from the same airport. They were flying to Sarasota, Florida.

The Cessna Citation 550 is a twin-engine plane and the report said the plane had problems before takeoff. Here are the key takeaways from the NTSB’s findings.

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• The left engine was not initially started before both engines were operational at approximately 9:53 a.m. ET. As the aircraft was taxiing for takeoff “the pilot and two pilot-rated passengers discussed that a thrust reverser indicator light(s) for an unspecified engine was inoperative, but the thrust reverser for the affected engine was operating properly.”

• At approximately 10:06 the aircraft took off “During the takeoff roll, the rear passenger commented that the left engine was producing more power than the right and indicated that there might be a faulty gauge. The pilot continued the takeoff.” The report states that it remained cloudy at about 5,000 feet for the entire duration of the flight, although visibility dropped from 10 miles to five miles from 9:54 to 10:15.

• Initial GPS data showed the plane turned left on takeoff and Dennis Dutton said he would fly under visual flight rules before clearing to fly under instrument flight rules. After a 180-degree turn and reaching 2,200 feet, it “continued to turn left and began descending. The right-seat passenger attempted to contact Air Traffic Control and activate an IFR flight plan for the flight between 10:08 and 10:10 but failed due to controller workload and related radio communications.”

• At 10:09, Dennis Dutton and Biffle discussed a higher climb even though they should have continued flying under visual flight rules. The report states that “the pilot initiated the climb, and shortly thereafter, the rear passenger noticed a discrepancy between the left and right engine interstage turbine temperature signals.” There were no other discussions that covered the rest of the tools [cockpit voice recorder] Recording” and the autopilot went off – either intentionally or unintentionally – after 10:10.

• Seconds later, “a microphone in the cockpit area captured the pilot commenting that his altitude indicator was not working properly and that additional left-side flight instruments may not be working properly.” The Garmin GPS on board stopped recording airspeed data and heading data at that time.

• At 10:11 “controls of the airplane were transferred to the right seat passenger, at an altitude of approximately 4,500 feet msl.” At 10:13, the plane was below 1,900 feet and all three said they could see the ground. “Although a positive transfer of airplane control was not recorded, communications between the pilot and the right seat passenger were consistent with the pilot resuming control of the airplane at that time.” After 10:13, the pilot turned the aircraft right to the west and requested to extend the landing gear. “Later discussions were consistent with the landing gear configured, however, the gear indicator lights were not illuminated.”

• Jack Dutton mentioned on the general traffic advisory frequency just before 10:14 that they “have some problems here.” Biffle refers to power from an alternator – the Cessna Citation 550 does not have an alternator. After a brief audio quality issue with the cockpit voice recorder, Dennis Dutton said there was a “problem” but did not specify what the problem was “or what actions were taken to correct it.”

• GPS data resumed recording after 10:14 and Dennis Dutton “made comments indicating that he visually acquired the runway” around 10:15. Data from the GPS “showed the airplane’s airspeed and altitude steadily decreasing from the time it last aligned to the runway until 10:15:18” when the airplane’s altitude dipped below 1,000 feet and 99 KTS.

• The aircraft struck a light station about 1,400 feet from the runway threshold and “a cluster of damaged trees located about 235 feet” from that light station “was uprooted about 12 feet above ground level. The first indication of fire was blackened branches and grass on the west side of the trees.”

• “About 350 feet of land was seen from it [light station]Close to the airport perimeter fence, and extend through [runway lights]. The debris path continued in a westerly direction across the runway overrun where the main debris came to rest in the runway blast area about 400 feet short of the runway 28 threshold. “Heavy charging” was observed from the second set of lights “and continued for the rest of the length of the wreck.”

• After the aircraft stopped the engines were engaged and both thrust reversers were in the stowed position. The investigators found “no evidence of unrepaired engine failure with either engine. Examination of the cockpit throttle quadrant found both thrust levers in the full forward position and both reverse throttle levers in the down position.

Biffle competed in NASCAR’s Cup Series for 16 full- or part-time seasons from 2002 to 2022. He raced full-time in the Cup Series from 2003 to 2016 and had 19 wins and 92 top-five finishes in 515 career starts.

His best season came in 2005, when he finished second in the points standings to Tony Stewart. Biffle’s six wins were the most in the Cup Series and his average finish of 11.9 was second only to Stewart.

Biffle is one of two drivers to win championships in both the third-tier NASCAR Truck Series and the second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series.