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 determined that Biffle was not flying the plane owned by his company GB Aviation Leasing LLC when it crashed on Dec. 18.

According to the report released Friday, the plane was piloted by Dennis Dutton, a certified pilot of numerous commercial aircraft, with his son Jack in the right-hand cockpit seat. Biffle, a licensed pilot with “civilian flight experience that included more than 3,500 flight hours,” sat behind the two and is identified as the rear passenger in the report.

advertisement

However, neither Biffle nor Jack Dutton was authorized to fly the Cessna Citation. The report notes that Dennis Dutton was authorized to fly the Citation with a subordinate on board, and although Jack Dutton was a pilot himself, he was “not qualified to perform second-in-command duties for the flight,” according to the NTSB, as he had just over 175 hours of single-engine experience.

Ross Aimer, CEO of Aero Consulting Experts, told Yahoo Sports that Jack Dutton’s lack of qualification was “disturbing” and said the plane required two pilots.

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

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

The Cessna Citation 550 is a twin-engine aircraft, and the report states that problems with the plane began before the flight began. Here are the main takeaways from the NTSB’s findings.

advertisement

• The left engine did not initially start until both engines were started at approximately 9:53 am ET. As the airplane taxied for takeoff, “the pilot and two pilot-qualified passengers discussed that an unspecified engine thrust reverser indicator light was inoperative, but that the affected engine’s thrust reverser was operating properly.”

• The airplane took off at approximately 10:06 a.m. “During takeoff, the rear passenger commented that the left engine was producing more power than the right and indicated that it may have been a faulty gauge. The pilot continued takeoff.” The report states that it was overcast at about 5,000 feet for the entire flight, although visibility dropped from 10 miles to five miles from 9:54 to 10:15.

• Early GPS data shows that the plane turned left while climbing and that Dennis Dutton said he would fly under visual flight rules before he was cleared 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-hand passenger attempted to contact ‘air traffic control’ and activate the flight’s IFR flight plan between 10:08 and 10:10, but was unsuccessful due to controller workload and associated radio communications.”

• At 10:09, Dennis Dutton and Biffle discussed climbing higher even though they should have continued to fly under visual flight rules. The report states that “the pilot initiated a climb and shortly thereafter the rear passenger noticed a difference between the left and right engine turbine temperature readings between gears.” There were no other discussions covering the tools in the rest [cockpit voice recorder] recording’ and the autopilot disengaged – either on purpose or independently – just after 10:10.

• Seconds later, “the cockpit area microphone captured the pilot making observations indicating that his altitude indicator was not functioning properly and that the left side additional flight instruments may not have been functioning properly.” The onboard Garmin GPS stopped recording airspeed and heading data during that time.

• At 10:11, “controls of the airplane were transferred to the right-hand passenger at an altitude of approximately 4,500 ft msl.” At 10:13 the plane was at just under 1,900 feet and that all three said they could see the ground. “Although a positive transfer of control of the airplane was not recorded, subsequent communication between the pilot and the right-hand passenger was consistent with the pilot resuming control of the airplane at that time.” Just after 10:13 a.m., the pilot turned the airplane right to the west and requested that the landing gear be extended. “Further discussion was consistent with the landing gear configured, however, the gear indicator lights were not illuminated.”

• Jack Dutton noted just before 10:14 on the common traffic warning frequency that “they’ve got a few problems here”. Biffle references power to an alternator – the Cessna Citation 550 does not have an alternator. After a brief audio quality problem with the cockpit voice recorder, Dennis Dutton is heard saying there was a “problem” but did not specify what the problem was “or what steps have been taken to correct it”.

• GPS data resumed recording just after 10:14 a.m., and Dennis Dutton “made comments indicating that he had acquired the track visually” around 10:15 a.m. The GPS data “showed that the airplane’s speed and altitude continued to decrease from the time the airplane was lined up on final approach to the runway until 10:15:18,” when the airplane’s altitude dropped below 1,000 feet and below 99 KTS.

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

• “A ground impression was observed approximately 350 feet from [light station]next to the perimeter fence of the airport, and extended through [runway lights]. The debris path continued along a westerly direction overshooting the runway until the main wreckage came to rest in the runway blowout zone approximately 400 feet from the threshold of runway 28.” “Heavy charring” was seen from a second set of lights “and continued along the remaining length of the debris field to the wreck.”

• The engines remained attached to the aircraft after it came to a stop and both thrust reversers were in the stowed position. Investigators found “no evidence of unrestricted engine failure with either engine. Examination of the cockpit throttle dial found both thrust levers to be in the full forward position and both reverse throttle levers to be in the down position, consistent with being stowed.”

Biffle competed for 16 full-time or part-time seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2002 to 2022. He competed full-time in the Cup Series from 2003 to 2016 and had 19 wins and 92 top-5 finishes in 515 career starts.

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

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