Overview
- County officials released multiple 911 recordings on Jan. 6 in which witnesses reported a huge explosion, heavy black smoke and a large fire at the end of the runway.
- Callers from the airport and nearby golf courses described the Cessna Citation 550 going straight downward before impact, and security video showed the plane in flames on contact with the ground.
- Flight data and witness accounts indicate the jet departed Statesville for Sarasota, turned back within minutes and crashed while attempting to land.
- The crash on Dec. 18 killed seven people: driver Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina, his children Emma, 14, and Ryder, 5, pilot Dennis Dutton, 67, his son Jack, 20, and NASCAR motorhome driver Craig Wadsworth, 64.
- The NTSB continues its probe into the return-to-airport sequence; a community memorial is set for Jan. 16 at Charlotte’s Bojangles Coliseum following a separate service for Emma held earlier this week.