ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Long after the roar of stock cars faded from his life, Greg Biffle became something else to many North Carolinians: a pilot who showed up when roads were gone, phones were dead and help felt impossibly far away.
That work ended tragically Thursday, when a business jet carrying the retired NASCAR driver, his wife, their two children and three others crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all seven people aboard, authorities said.
The Cessna C550 went down while attempting to return to Statesville Regional Airport, about 45 miles north of Charlotte, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. The aircraft erupted into a large fire upon impact…