Officials Still Don’t Know Who Was Flying Greg Biffle’s Plane When It Crashed, Killing Him and 6 Others

Authorities are revealing new details about the plane crash that killed seven people, including NASCAR champion Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina Grossu Biffle and their two children. 

At a press conference on Friday, Dec. 19, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials shared that they have recovered the cockpit voice recorder — but it is currently unknown who was flying the twin-engine Cessna Citation 550 when it crashed at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina on Thursday morning.

“At this time, we have been unable to verify who was flying the airplane,” NTSB Member Michael Graham said at the press conference. “We do know three of the occupants did possess a pilot’s license, but we have been unable to verify that at this time, but that’s one of the things we’re working on.”

Biffle, 55, received certification to fly a multi-engine plane in March of this year, according to NBC affiliate WCNC, but his license would not have allowed him to be the sole pilot.

Among those killed were commercial airline pilot Dennis Dutton and his son Jack, who was studying aviation at Auburn University and was recently certified as a single-engine pilot.

In the agency’s first full day of being on scene, Graham shared that the team is currently talking to witnesses of the accident.

“We do have witnesses that said the aircraft came in very low,” Graham said.

The NTSB is also looking into if weather played a role in the crash.

“It was visual flight rules,” Graham said about the flying conditions, “but there were low ceilings out there and there was heavy drizzle at the time. “So that is one of the three things that we really mainly look at. We look at the people operating the aircraft, we look at the aircraft itself and then we look at the environment, and the weather is one of those we look at and will look at very closely.”

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The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) previously confirmed to PEOPLE that a plane crash occurred at 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18.

Initial reports of the crash confirmed that the plane was owned by Biffle.

In the press conference, authorities shared that the plane was in the air for 10 minutes between taking off and when it attempted to return to the airport and crashed just short of the runway.

“The initial point of impact was a runway light stanchion located about 1,800 feet from the runway threshold,” Graham said. “The airplane subsequently impacted trees [and] two other runway light stanchions and the airport perimeter fence short of the runway threshold before coming to rest near the runway threshold.”

He continued, “The airplane also came to rest oriented on an easterly heading. Post-impact fire consumed the majority of the fuselage and the inboard wing sections. All four corners of the airplane and flight control surfaces have been identified in the wreckage and the debris field. Both engines were present with the main wreckage.”

In a joint statement released on Thursday, families of the victims remembered their loved ones.

“We are devastated by the loss of our loved ones. This tragedy has left all of our families heartbroken beyond words,” read a statement from the Biffle, Grossu, Dutton and Lunders families, which was shared by Fox Sports motorsports reporter Bob Pockrass on X.

“Greg and Cristina were devoted parents and active philanthropists whose lives were centered around their young son Ryder and Greg’s daughter Emma (mother – Nicole Lunders),” the family statement continued, which went on to remember Emma, 14, as a “wonderful human being with a kind soul” and Ryder, 5, as an “active, curious and infinitely joyful child.”

“Dennis Dutton and his son Jack were deeply loved as well, and their loss is felt by all who knew them. Craig Wadsworth was beloved by many in the NASCAR community and will be missed by those who knew him,” the statement continued. 

The group was flying to Sarasota, Fla. for a “birthday trip,” ahead of Biffle’s 56th birthday, which would have been Tuesday, Dec. 23, his mother-in-law Cathy Grossu told PEOPLE on Thursday.