Greg Biffle’s Ex-Wife’s Lawsuit: Wrongful Death Claim Over Emma’s Crash

Nicole Biffle, the ex-wife of late NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, filed a wrongful death lawsuit on May 13, 2026 over the December 2025 plane crash that killed their 14-year-old daughter, Emma. Filed as administrator of Emma’s estate, the suit names three defendants: Greg Biffle’s estate, the estate of pilot Dennis Dutton, and GB Aviation Leasing LLC, the aviation company Biffle owned that also owned the Cessna Citation 550 involved in the crash.¹²

What the Lawsuit Alleges

The complaint accuses pilot Dennis Dutton of several specific acts of negligence. It says Dutton had filed an instrument flight rules plan but never activated it before takeoff. After the left engine failed to start on battery power, the suit alleges, Dutton did not turn on the plane’s generator, a power-related failure the complaint says significantly contributed to the crash.¹

The complaint also accuses Dutton of “scud running,” which it describes as the illegal and dangerous practice of flying at very low altitude to stay below cloud cover rather than following instrument flight rules. The lawsuit identifies scud running as a frequent cause of controlled flight into terrain, and separately alleges Dutton flew at a dangerously low altitude in violation of federal aviation regulations.¹

Greg Biffle is named because, the complaint says, he owned the aircraft, was a licensed multi-engine pilot himself, and exercised “significant dominion and control” over the flight’s operation, advocating for critical decisions that contributed to the crash.³ The complaint further states that Emma had flu-like symptoms on the day of the flight and did not want to go on the trip, but her father insisted she come along.⁴

Greg Biffle’s estate is administered by his niece, Jordyn Carpenter.¹

Damages Being Sought

Nicole Biffle is seeking damages for wrongful death, pain and suffering, and loss of companionship. Reporting on the May filing lists compensatory damages of $25,000. An earlier notice of a claim filed in February 2026 against the Dutton estate alone had sought in excess of $10 million.⁵¹

The Crash That Killed Emma Biffle

On the morning of December 18, 2025, a Cessna Citation 550 owned by GB Aviation Leasing LLC took off from Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina bound for Sarasota, Florida. Seven people were on board: Greg Biffle, his wife Cristina Grossu Biffle, their five-year-old son Ryder, 14-year-old Emma from his first marriage, pilot Dennis Dutton, Dutton’s son Jack, and longtime Biffle associate Craig Wadsworth.⁶⁷

The plane took off at 10:06 a.m. and almost immediately ran into trouble. Once airborne, the crew experienced a cascade of instrument failures: the altitude indicator malfunctioned, other left-side flight instruments stopped working, airspeed and heading data from the Garmin avionics unit dropped out, and the autopilot disengaged. Dutton attempted to turn back. At about 10:15 a.m., the aircraft crashed roughly 400 feet short of the runway threshold, striking approach lighting and trees before coming to rest in the runway blast area. A large fire erupted on impact. Everyone on board was killed.⁸⁹

What the NTSB Preliminary Report Found

The NTSB released its preliminary report on January 30, 2026, and confirmed that Greg Biffle was not flying the plane. He was seated in the rear as a passenger. Although Biffle held a pilot’s license with more than 3,500 flight hours, he was not certified to fly the Cessna Citation 550.¹⁰

Dennis Dutton had over 17,000 total flight hours. The Citation 550 required two qualified pilots to operate, but the NTSB found that Jack Dutton, who occupied the right cockpit seat, “was not qualified to perform second in command duties for the flight.” Jack Dutton had roughly 175 hours of single-engine experience and lacked the license required for the Citation.¹¹¹⁰

Investigators found no evidence of engine failure. Both engines appeared to have been producing power at the time of impact. The report did document extensive electrical and instrument anomalies that likely degraded the pilot’s situational awareness, resulting in what the NTSB described as an “unstabilized approach.” The investigation remains ongoing. The NTSB does not determine probable cause in a preliminary report and typically issues a final report 12 to 24 months after an accident.⁸

Competing Lawsuits Over the Same Crash

Nicole Biffle’s suit is one of several stemming from the crash. On April 17, 2026, the estates of Dennis Dutton and Jack Dutton each filed separate wrongful death lawsuits against Greg Biffle’s estate in Iredell County, North Carolina. Each seeks $15 million in damages, for a combined $30 million.¹²¹³

The Dutton lawsuits take a different angle. They allege that Biffle, as the sole owner of the Cessna 550, was responsible for its airworthiness, maintenance, operation, and safety, and that he failed to maintain the aircraft in airworthy condition, failed to ensure a sufficient and qualified crew was on board, and failed to conduct adequate safety checks, repairs, and inspections.¹⁴¹⁵

As of mid-2026, no court rulings or scheduled hearings in any of the cases have been publicly reported.¹⁶

Not the First Suit Between the Biffles

Nicole Biffle, born Nicole Lunders, married Greg Biffle in October 2007. They separated in March 2015, and their divorce was finalized in 2016. Emma, born in 2011, was their only child together.¹⁷

In 2018, Lunders sued Biffle over hidden security cameras he had installed in their home, alleging they had recorded her in private moments. Biffle testified the cameras were aimed at a closet where valuables were kept and were meant to monitor a maid he suspected of stealing. After a 12-day trial, a North Carolina jury found Biffle had violated Lunders’ privacy and awarded $1 in actual damages and $500,000 in punitive damages. North Carolina’s statutory cap reduced the punitive award to $250,000, for a final judgment of $250,001. Lunders had originally sought over $5 million for herself and more than $3 million for her mother; the jury rejected the mother’s claim.¹⁷¹⁸

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