Sheriff: Multiple deaths after jet crashes during landing at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina
Authorities say a business jet crashed while landing at a regional airport in Statesville, North Carolina, erupting in a large fire. (WBTV-TV via FOX)
The Iredell County Sheriff's Office in North Carolina says multiple people were killed when a Cessna C550 jet crashed Thursday around 10:20 a.m. while landing at the Statesville Regional Airport erupted in a large fire.
"I can confirm there were fatalities," Iredell County Sheriff Grant Campbell said, though he declined to say how many.
What we know:
According to flight-tracking website FlightAware, the plane, identified as a Cessna C550 with the tail number N257BW, had taken off from Statesville just eight minutes before the crash and data suggests they were returning to the airport when the crash happened.
The plane is owned by GB Aviation Leasing LLC, according to federal aviation records. The company is owned by Biffle.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating to determine what caused the crash. Airport officials said the airport is closed, and it will take a while to get the debris off the runway.
FOX News Digital confirmed that NASCAR driver Greg Biffle owned the plane that crashed in North Carolina. However, it's still unclear who was on board the plane.
The Statesville Regional Airport is about 45 miles north of Charlotte.
Dig deeper:
The Statesville Regional Airport is a general aviation airport owned by the City of Statesville in Iredell County, which is about 45 miles north of Charlotte.
The airport says on its website that Statesville Regional Airport provides corporate aviation facilities for Fortune 500 companies and several NASCAR teams.
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
The Source: Information in this article was sourced from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.