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 a plane owned by his company, GB Aviation Leasing LLC, at the time of the Dec. 18 crash.
The plane was flown by Dennis Dutton, a pilot qualified to fly several commercial aircraft, with his son Jack in the right cockpit seat, according to reports released Friday. Biffle, a licensed pilot with “more than 3,500 hours of civilian flying experience,” was seated behind the two men and was identified in the report as the rear seat passenger.
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However, neither Biffle nor Jack Dutton was licensed to fly the Cessna Citation. The report states that Dennis Dutton was licensed to fly the Citation aircraft with a first officer on board, and although Jack Dutton was a pilot himself, according to the NTSB, he was “not qualified to perform the duties of a first officer on the flight” because he had only more than 175 hours of experience flying single-engine aircraft.
Aviation Consultants CEO Ross Emmer told Yahoo Sports that Jack Dutton’s lack of qualifications was “troubling” and said the plane required two pilots.
“In this particular case, because it required two pilots and neither Biffle nor Young was qualified, they should have put a licensed pilot in that seat,” Emmer said.
Biffle, his wife Christina, their son Ryder, Biffle’s daughter Emma, Dennis and Jack Dutton and Craig Wadsworth were on the plane, which attempted to land at Statesville (N.C.) Regional Airport shortly after taking off. They flew to Sarasota, Florida.
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators are examining the wreckage of a Cessna 550 business jet after a crash killed several people, including former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle. (Reuters)
(Via Reuters/Reuters)
The Cessna Citation 550 is a twin-engine aircraft, and the report states that the problems with the aircraft began before the flight even began. The following are key takeaways from the NTSB’s findings.
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The left engine did not initially start until both engines started at approximately 9:53 a.m. ET. As the aircraft was taxiing for takeoff, “the pilot and two pilot-rated passengers discussed that the thrust reverser indicator light for the unspecified engine was not functioning, but that the thrust reverser for the affected engine was functioning normally.”
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The plane took off at about 10:06 a.m. “During the takeoff roll, the rear seat passenger commented that the left engine was producing more power than the right engine and suggested that the instruments might be faulty. The pilot continued to take off.” The weather was overcast at about 5,000 feet throughout the flight, but visibility dropped from 10 miles to 5 miles from 9:54 to 10:15, the report said.
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Early GPS data showed the plane turned left as it climbed, and Dennis Dutton said he would fly under visual flight rules before being cleared to fly under instrument flight rules. After making a 180-degree turn and reaching 2,200 feet, the aircraft “continued a left turn and began to descend. The right-seat passenger attempted to contact air traffic control between 10:08 and 10:10 and initiate an IFR flight plan for the flight, but was unsuccessful due to controller workload and associated radio communications.”
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At 10:09, Dennis Dutton and Biffle discussed climbing higher, even though they should continue to fly under visual flight rules. “The pilot began the climb and shortly after, the rear seat passenger noticed a difference between the turbine temperature indications between the left and right engine stages,” the report states. There was no other discussion involving these instruments during the remainder of the meeting. [cockpit voice recorder] Just after 10:10, the autopilot disengaged, intentionally or accidentally.
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Seconds later, “the cockpit area microphone captured the pilot’s remarks indicating that his altitude indicator was not functioning properly and that the attached left flight instruments may not be functioning properly.” About that time the onboard Garmin GPS stopped recording airspeed data and heading data.
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At 10:11, “Control of the aircraft was transferred to the right-seat passenger at an altitude of approximately 4,500 feet.” At 10:13, the aircraft was flying at an altitude of just under 1,900 feet, and all three said they could see the ground. “While no active transfer of control of the aircraft was recorded, subsequent communications between the pilot and the right-seat passenger were consistent with the pilot regaining control of the aircraft at that time.” Just after 10:13, the pilot turned the aircraft right to fly west and requested that the landing gear be retracted. “The ensuing discussion was consistent with the configuration of the landing gear, but the landing gear indicator lights were not illuminated.”
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Jack Dutton noted on the common traffic advisory frequency just before 10:14 that they had “some problems here”. Biffle mentioned alternator power – 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 an “issue” but did not specify what the issue was “or what steps were taken to correct it”.
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GPS data resumed recording after 10:14, with Dennis Dutton “making comments indicating that he had visual control of the runway” around 10:15. Data from the GPS “showed a continued decrease in airspeed and altitude from the time the aircraft made final approach to the runway until 10:15:18,” when the aircraft’s altitude dropped below 1,000 feet and below 99 KTS.
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The plane struck a lighthouse about 1,400 feet from the runway threshold, and a “cluster of damaged trees” about 235 feet away was sheared about 12 feet above the ground. “The first sign of a fire is the blackening of branches and grass near the west side of the trees.”
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“Ground marks were observed approximately 350 feet above the ground [light station]close to the airport fence and extending through [runway lights]. The debris path continued in a westerly direction across the overrun runway to where the main wreckage came to rest in the runway explosion zone approximately 400 feet from the runway 28 threshold. “Severe charring” was visible from the second set of lights, “which continued along the remaining length of the wreckage field to the wreckage.” “
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After the aircraft came to a stop, the engines were still connected to the aircraft and both thrust reversers were in the retracted position. Investigators found “no evidence of unconfined engine failure in either engine. An inspection of the cockpit throttle quadrant found both thrust levers in the fully forward position and both reverse throttle levers in the down position, consistent with the stowed condition.”
From 2002 to 2022, Biff competed in 16 full- or part-time seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series. He competed full-time in the Cup Series from 2003 to 2016, recording 19 wins and 92 top-five finishes in 515 career starts.
His best season came in 2005 when he finished second in the championship behind Tony Stewart. Biffler’s six wins were the most in the Cup Series that season, and his 11.9 average finish was second only to Stewart.
Biffle is one of only two drivers to win championships in both the Class III NASCAR Truck Series and the Class II NASCAR Xfinity Series.
