In a tragic incident in Statesville, North Carolina, a small private jet met with disaster shortly after taking off, resulting in the loss of several lives, as confirmed by local authorities.
The unfortunate event occurred shortly after 10:15 a.m., according to Iredell County Chief Deputy Bill Hamby. While the exact number of casualties remains undetermined, the fatalities have been confirmed.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported, “A Cessna C550 crashed while landing at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina around 10:20 a.m. local time on Thursday, Dec. 18.” Both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are set to investigate, with the NTSB taking the lead and providing updates as they become available.
Information from an airport spokesperson revealed that the aircraft was attempting to return to the runway when the crash occurred.
Statesville Regional Airport, located approximately 45 miles north of Charlotte, operates without a control tower. This requires pilots to communicate their positions on and near the airport via a shared radio frequency.
Weather conditions reported by an automated station at the airport, around 80 minutes post-crash, indicated low clouds, light rain, and visibility of less than three miles. However, it remains uncertain whether these conditions were a factor during the crash.
The agency’s records show this plane is owned by GB Aviation Leasing, a limited liability company based in NC. North Carolina government business records show that former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle is the manager of the company.
It is unknown whether Biffle was on board, how many passengers were on the plane, or their conditions.
“The Statesville Regional Airport provides corporate aviation facilities for Fortune 500 companies and several NASCAR teams,” according to the city website
This is a developing story and will be updated.
CNN contributed to this report.
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