Not another plane crash… North Carolina
 

Condolences to the families of those affected.

I guess there is a nascar link?

Greg Biffle and family. He was a former NASCAR driver.

This sucks. He was a god guy. Flew his helicopter to Western North Carolina after the disaster.

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/airplane-linked-former-nascar-greg-biffle-crashes-north-carolina

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1766083517.jpg

Biffle family lost in an instant, quite saddened to read this, RIP.

Well that sucks.

I used to get my red neck motorsports fix years back going to local dirt tracks. And? I saw Greg doing his thing up close and personal at a fun venue.

Glad that I got to experience him doing his thing.

This is a dark day.

That really sucks. He grew up near Portland, so I was always a fan of his while he was racing. In the last couple of years, he'd started a YouTube channel on the heels of his good buddy Cleetus McFarland aka Garrett Mitchell, as noted above; he was a fun loving guy who doted on his family, who were always in his videos. What a terrible tragedy.

RIP to all that perished . Just terrible for surviving family and friends . And a week before Christmas :(

The Biff and his family?! A true car guy and a huge loss. What a tragedy, so sad.

Damn :(.

He really stepped up after last year's disaster ... bigly.

Simply tragic ... RIP and condolonces to all.

This sucks....

This is really sad. A whole family at once, gone. May they all rest in peace.

Man, this one hurts. I watched his video's along with Garrett's, flying into NC to help folks that had no hope. He seemed like a special dude. Damn, life just isn't fair.

He’ll probable remembered for his work flying in supplies and rescuing people after the hurricanes in North Carolina
He was a good driver as well, won championships in trucks and Busch series. RIP

With him flying the helicopter, I took it that he was flying the plane, but I don’t think that’s the case.

We haven’t flown as a family, but if we did, I’m thinking we will split up. What does everybody else do?

Online reports say the 1st landing attempt was aborted . So a fly around and then the crash on the 2nd attempt . Not sure if that is relevant or not . My BIL lives near the area of the crash and said the weather was misty/cloudy but nothing crazy . Has anyone heard anything different regarding the weather ?

I think I saw a local report or something showing the path... I think it took off, then turned around very soon to return ... then ???.

The facts will come out ...

Biffle was a good guy, and tho' I haven't kept up with Nascar.. but . He was personally flying his 'copter to aid folks and that made him a champion to me.

RIP to all..

Hmmm that sounds like a possible mechanical failure . Yeah eventually the facts will come out . There is no doubt Greg was a good guy .

Yes, he was a helicopter pilot, and put his skills to good use. Rest in Peace.

I know we have some pilots here who probably frequent the aviation forums where technical discussion is the rule of the day. Hopefully we get some insight on this.

The flight data shows there were a lot of altitude undulations and air speed changes. He was up as high as 4000 feet at one point in the short flight. That would suggest control systems problems or a weight and balance issue.

This is very sad. RIP

My buddy sent me a long recollection about Biffle. He is a serious car guy and painted some race cars for him. He also recalled (correctly) that we sat right at corner #1 low and right at the wall. Tire shreds kept falling into our oversize beers.

Good times. Thanks again Greg.

Very experienced professional pilot flying. Low vis though, which probably accounts for the weird pattern entry, but that tight turn at the end in a jet likely having power issues, not good.

That's what Blancolerio said, too, and he also suggested that the pilot was trying to keep the runway in visual sight, as a reason why he was flying so low and close to the runway on the return (right before that left turn.). Maybe low, low ceiling or fog on the ground.

He also said the C550 would be perfectly maneuverable with one engine fwiw.

This showed up

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Greg's wife texted her mom " we're in trouble emergency landing " . Confirmed by her mom . So it sounds like they knew something was wrong and it was serious . Do private planes have cockpit recorders ?

CVR was found at the site and on the way to DC.

I read there were three pilots on board. Not sure if that includes Biffle.

^^^ Yep... that's local reports... GB would be one of the three with no speculation on who was the actual pilot.

It's probably known by now... just not public info imo.

RIP. So sad. My heart stops when I see these private jet incidents. Our middle daughter is a flight attendant for private jets out of Austin. It's a small world. I wouldn't doubt someone on her crew knew someone on that plane.

Seemed to have an issue with incorrect barometric altitude readings, not to mention some odd altitude and speed data points. NTSB said it came in on a stable approach, configured properly for landing, but way low. Impacted approach lighting infrastructure 1800 feet from the threshold, final resting point of the A/C was on the end of the runway. Most of the cabin is gone from fire. Cloud ceiling was around 1200' AGL, broken with heavy drizzle, I think.

Father and son pilots, plus Biffle. Dad was an airline Airbus (330?) pilot.

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I have great respect for Juan, but he needs to step back. Running thru trees and several light standards are as likely to cause that engine damage as fod intake from baggage. Yeah, the door is gone, along with a whole bunch of the front of the aircraft.
Whatever happened happened at max gross immediately at takeoff or just thereafter. Not good. But let the NTSB do their work.