A plane crashed early Thursday at Statesville Regional Airport, about a 45-mile drive north from Charlotte, according to airport officials.
Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell said shortly before 1:30 p.m. that there were multiple fatalities, but he could not yet confirm the number. He said the sheriff’s office, N.C. State Highway Patrol and Federal Aviation Administration were processing the crash scene and notifying next of kin.
“At approximately 10:15 am, an aircraft crashed while landing,” airport officials said. “Multiple agencies are responding … including HazMat, EMS, Fire, Rescue, Emergency Management, the NC State Highway Patrol, and the Federal Aviation Administration.”
Details of what caused the crash have not been released, and the airport has not said how many were on aboard.
The National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed there were fatalities when the Cessna Citation C550 jet crashed, and it is sending a team to investigate.
A Cessna C550 can carry seven passengers, according to Airlinesconnection.com
Flight Aware reports that the plane was scheduled to spend most of the day in Florida, flying from Sarasota to Treasure Cay and then to Fort Lauderdale before returning to Statesville this evening.
The plane was identified as a Cessna C550 owned by NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, according to the station WSOC. “The tail number is N257BW, which is owned by GB Aviation Leasing. That has the same address as Biffle,” the station reports.
Weather conditions at the airport were “adverse,” AccuWeather reports.
“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.,” according to Dan DePodwin, AccuWeather Vice President of Forecasting Operations.
“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.”
The Statesville Regional Airport is owned by city of Statesville and “provides corporate aviation facilities for Fortune 500 companies and several NASCAR teams,” according to the city.
Meteorologist Kaitlin Wright shared this video on social media showing the plane cut a long path through the grass before bursting into flames. X video screen grab
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published December 18, 2025 at 12:09 PM.
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Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
Mark Price is a National Reporter for McClatchy News. He joined the network of newspapers in 1991 at The Charlotte Observer, covering beats including schools, crime, immigration, LGBTQ issues, homelessness and nonprofits. He graduated from the University of Memphis with majors in journalism and art history, and a minor in geology.
