On the morning of December 18, 2025, the air over Statesville, North Carolina, was heavy and gray—what pilots call “marginal VFR.” A Cessna Citation 550, carrying NASCAR legend Greg Biffle, his family, and veteran pilot Dennis Dutton, taxied toward Runway 10. There were seven souls on board.
They were in the air for less than ten minutes. What happened in those 600 seconds is a puzzle of mechanical failure, weather battles, and a desperate race against gravity.
The Voice on the Radio
While the NTSB initially stated there was no formal “Mayday” call, new audio from the aircraft’s final moments tells a different story. It wasn’t a panicked scream; it was a steady, young voice—likely Jack Dutton, the son of the captain—broadcasting on the Statesville Unicom frequency.
“Statesville traffic, Cessna 257 Bravo Whiskey… we’ve got an issue with… some of our… things for Runway 10.”
The voice trailed off. He didn’t say “engine failure.” He didn’t say “fire.” He used the plural: “Issues.” To a trained ear, this suggests a compounding nightmare—perhaps a combination of engine trouble and flight control problems.
The Fatal “Teardrop”
As the plane emerged in and out of the ragged clouds at 1,200 feet, the pilots made a life-or-death decision. Instead of climbing straight ahead to find clear air and stabilize, they decided to turn back immediately.
They attempted a “teardrop” turn—a maneuver designed to bring the plane back to the opposite runway (Runway 28). But the flight data shows a turn that was dangerously tight. Aviation experts suggest the pilot was “wrestling” the aircraft, fighting to keep it level while battling visibility and a “dirty” airframe—meaning the landing gear and flaps were already down, creating a massive amount of drag.
Low and Slow
The final radio transmission was brief and professional: “Bravo on final for runway [28].”
It was the last time anyone heard from Citation 257BW. Although the NTSB would later describe the approach as “stable,” the physical evidence suggests otherwise. At one mile out, a plane should be 300 feet in the air. This Citation was so low it struck a runway approach light before it reached the tarmac.
In a twin-engine jet like the Citation, if one engine fails, the other must work at full scream to keep the plane aloft. When you add the drag of the landing gear and a steep banking turn, you lose the one thing that keeps you alive: airspeed.
A Valiant Effort
The tragedy of the Greg Biffle crash is not just in the loss of seven lives, but in the small details of the heroism found in the cockpit. Even as they were fighting to save themselves, the crew was looking out for others, warning other pilots to stay clear of Runway 10 because they were coming back in distress.
They were “low and slow”—the deadliest corner for any pilot to be in—and despite a valiant effort to wrestle the “Slowation” back to earth, gravity eventually took over.
As we wait for the final NTSB report, the audio remains a chilling reminder that in aviation, “issues” can turn into a catastrophe in the blink of an eye.
