Witness describes Greg Biffle plane crash: 'I watched my friend die'

STATESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA: Former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family were among seven people killed in a plane crash at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina.

Following the crash, several witnesses spoke to reporters at the accident site and described what they had seen. One witness, Michael Wingo, said he was so close to the crash that "I could feel the heat from here"

Witness recalls fatal plane crash

Speaking to The Charlotte Observer, Wingo said he witnessed the disaster unfold from his front porch near Old Airport Road while letting his dog, Taz, outside. His house sits next to a field across from the airport.

Gesturing toward his porch, he said, "I was standing right here with my dog. I looked over and saw it. When it exploded, I could feel the heat from here." Following the crash, he immediately called 911.

According to a joint statement from the victims’ families, those killed were Greg Biffle and his wife, Cristina; their 5-year-old son, Ryder; Greg’s teenage daughter, Emma; Dennis Dutton; his son, Jack; and Craig Wadsworth.

Wingo said he was haunted by the plane’s trajectory, explaining, "Knowing if that plane had been angled in any different direction, it could have landed right here. That scares me a lot."

The horror of the event soon turned into personal grief when Wingo learned that one of his close friends, Wadsworth, had been on board. Wadsworth reportedly drove the motor coach of NASCAR reporter and former driver Kenny Wallace. 

In their statement, the families said Wadsworth was also "beloved by many in the NASCAR community." In a social media tribute to Biffle and the other victims, Wallace said Wadsworth was like family.

Witness watched plane explode near porch

Reflecting on the loss, Michael Wingo said, "It hasn’t really hit me yet. I watched it happen, and I didn’t know who was on it until later. In my mind, I’m thinking, 'I watched my friend die'." 

Wingo added that Wadsworth, who spent years working with Greg Biffle and within the NASCAR world, was a pillar of the community. 

"He’d give you the shirt off his back. Great person. Craig was one of the best," he said.

Other neighbors who live near the airport also described what they saw and heard. James Jones, a neighbor, was inside his home on Airport Road when the plane crashed. 

Recalling the moment, Jones said, "At first it was just a flame, then black smoke. I thought it was a house because there are residences on that side, too." He was shocked to realize the smoke was rising not from a neighbor’s home, but from a crashed plane just a short distance from his property.

Another neighbor, Alex Etman, who lives directly across from the airport, was at work when he first heard the news.

"We are pretty close. It’s definitely spooky to be this near to something like that. We obviously get a lot of plane traffic after the NASCAR races when the teams are coming home. Everything always felt normal," Etman said.