Nine months after the plane crash in Statesville, North Carolina, that killed Greg Biffle and six other people, the fight over what he left behind finally has a price tag. It’s a big one.
Nicole Biffle, the former NASCAR driver’s ex-wife, wants $10 million from his estate over the death of their 14-year-old daughter, Emma, TMZ reported in early September. She’s also asking that the estate stop paying anything out until her claim is resolved, so there’s still money left if she wins.
She isn’t the only one waiting. Claims tied to the deaths of pilot Dennis Dutton and his son, Jack, add roughly $30 million more, which puts the total against Biffle’s estate at around $40 million.
Ten minutes on Dec. 18
The jet was a Cessna 550 Citation II owned by GB Aviation Leasing LLC, Biffle’s company. It left Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles north of Charlotte, at roughly 10:05 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. Around five minutes later it turned back. It never made the runway.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report, released Jan. 30, things went wrong in the cockpit fast. The pilot reported that the altitude indicator and the instruments on the left side had stopped working. Three minutes later, the person in the right seat said “we’re having some issues here.” The plane hit runway approach lights and trees about 1,400 feet short of the runway and burned.
All seven people on board died: Biffle, 55; his wife, Cristina; their son, Ryder, 5; Emma; Dennis Dutton; Jack Dutton; and Craig Wadsworth, Fox News reported.
The preliminary report also found that the pilot’s son, who was sitting in the right seat, held a private pilot certificate but wasn’t qualified to serve as second-in-command on that jet. The Associated Press reported that Biffle was not the one flying, WSMV noted. The NTSB’s final report hasn’t come out yet. The agency said at the start that a full investigation usually takes 12 to 18 months.
Why the $10 million number is only showing up now
Nicole Biffle actually sued back in May. Her wrongful death lawsuit, filed May 13, named Greg Biffle’s estate, Dennis Dutton’s estate, and GB Aviation Leasing, WBTV reported. The damages line in that complaint said $25,000.
That isn’t what she thinks her daughter’s life was worth. It’s a North Carolina quirk. Civil cases over $25,000 go to Superior Court, so lawyers routinely plead “in excess of $25,000” and leave the real number for later. The September claim against the estate is the first time a real figure has been attached to Emma’s death on Greg Biffle’s side of the case.
The allegations in the May lawsuit are specific. According to WSOC and WBTV, the suit claims:
- A flight plan was filed but never activated with the FAA.
- The jet took off without an instrument flight rules clearance or contact with air traffic control, even though clouds, rain, and fog called for one.
- The crew didn’t turn on a generator after the left engine failed to start the first time.
- The flight involved “scud running,” which means flying low under the cloud layer to stay out of the weather.
- Emma had flu-like symptoms and didn’t want to go, but was pressured to get on the plane.
None of those claims have been tested in court, and no defendant had filed a response when the lawsuit became public in late May.
The pilot’s family blames the owner. The ex-wife blames both.
What makes this case messy is where everyone is standing.
On April 17, the Dutton estate sued Biffle’s estate for $15 million, arguing that Biffle “owned the Cessna 550 and was responsible for its maintenance, operation and safety.” So the pilot’s family is pointing at the plane’s owner. Nicole Biffle is pointing at the owner and the pilot. The one thing none of them have is an unlimited pot of money to fight over.
That’s why the request to freeze distributions matters more than the dollar figure. WBTV identified the estate’s administrator as Jordyn Biffle Carpenter. Before any money reaches heirs, an estate is supposed to deal with what it owes. If money goes out the door first and a court later rules against the estate, getting it back is a much harder fight. Nicole Biffle is trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.
This reaches well past one family
Biffle was one of the most successful drivers of his era. He won 19 Cup Series races, the 2000 Truck Series championship, and the 2002 Busch Series title. After he stopped racing full time, a lot of people got to know him as the guy flying supplies into the North Carolina mountains after Hurricane Helene.
He also did what a lot of racing people do. He owned an airplane through a small company. Drivers, team owners, and sponsors fly constantly, and holding the plane in an LLC is standard practice. This case is going to show how much protection that setup actually gives when the owner, his family, and the crew are all on board and all gone.
NASCAR’s money fights usually look more like an unpaid parts bill or a restoration job gone wrong. This one is different. It’s been a hard year for the sport’s champions, and not only in Statesville. None of the families here asked to have their grief sorted out in a courtroom, but that’s where it’s headed.
So here’s the question the courts will eventually have to answer, and I’d like to hear yours: if you own the plane but you aren’t the one flying it, should your estate be on the hook for everything that happens after takeoff?