NTSB report reveals cockpit issues before crash that killed NASCAR’s Greg Biffle

The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report in its investigation into the Dec. 18  jet crash that killed retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and six others.

The Cessna 550 airplane crashed after taking off from Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina, about 45 miles north of Charlotte. The plane's original destination was Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport in Florida, but the aircraft turned around and was attempting to land back at Statesville when it crashed.

Biffle, his wife, five-year-old son, 14-year-old daughter and three other people were killed in the crash, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said.

The plane was piloted by 67-year-old Dennis Rollin Dutton, USA Today reported. The preliminary report from the NTSB said the pilot was rated to fly airliners, but that his type rating in the C-500 class of jets required a second in command. The pilot's adult son was seated in the co-pilot's seat and held a private pilot's license, but was "not qualified to perform second in command duties," the report noted.

The report did not identify Biffle, the pilot or the pilot's son by name. Biffle held a pilot's license but was not flying the aircraft, USA Today reported. 

The report said the aircraft began taxiing just before 10 a.m. eastern standard time after an "initial unsuccessful start" of the left engine.

The aircraft's engines were made by Pratt & Whitney in Canada. The company is headquartered in East Hartford.

"During taxi, the pilot and the two pilot-rated passengers discussed that a thrust reverser indicator light(s) for an unspecified engine was inoperative, but that the thrust reverser for the affected engine was working properly," the preliminary report stated.

During the takeoff roll, the rear passenger — who appears to have been Biffle, based on the report, commented that the left engine was producing more power than the right and that there "may have been a faulty gauge," the preliminary report said. 

The plane was equipped with a Cockpit Voice Recorder, or CVR, the report noted.

The plane took off. Minutes into the flight, the rear passenger noted a difference in temperature between the left and right "interstage turbine 
temperature (ITT) indications," the report said. It noted there were no other discussions about the engine instruments throughout the rest of the cockpit recording.

Soon after, the recorder captured the pilot remarking that his altitude indicator was not working properly, and that other flight instruments on the pilot's side of the cockpit may not have been working properly, the report said. 

The report said the aircraft's Garmin GTN-750, a multi-function display, stopped recording airspeed and then heading data minutes into the flight.

Control of the aircraft was passed to the right seat passenger at an altitude of around 4,500 feet, the report said. At some point soon after, the passenger passed control of the aircraft back to the pilot, based on their communications, the report said. 

A visualization of the aircraft's flight path showed around that time, the aircraft turned and headed back towards Statesville Regional Airport.

At 10:13 a.m., about 7 minutes after the plane took off, the passenger in the co-pilot's seat radioed "…we’re having some issues here" on the Statesville airport common traffic advisory, the report said. 

A few seconds later, the rear passenger asked the pilot about power to the "alternator," though the report noted the aircraft is not equipped with an alternator. 

The report said the pilot commented that was the "problem," but did not "specify what the 'problem' was or what actions were taken to correct it."

"The pilot made a comment indicating that was the “problem,” however, did not specify  what the “problem” was or what actions were taken to correct it," the report stated.

The report indicated the plane was attempting to land at runway 28, and that the pilot had commented that he "acquired the runway visually." The aircraft went down short of the runway, striking two lightbulbs off the top of a 29-foot-tall light pole about 1,380 from the runway threshold and then striking a second light pole and a group of trees. 

The aircraft's wreckage came to rest "on the runway blast area" about 400 feet short of the runway threshold, the report said. A "post impact fire" consumed the majority of the fuselage, and the heat damaged both wings, both engines and the empennage or rear section of the aircraft, the report said.