Nicole Biffle, the ex-wife of the late NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, filed a wrongful death lawsuit on May 13 against the estate of Greg Biffle, as well as the estate of the pilot of the plane that crashed in December 2025. The crash claimed the lives of all seven people onboard, including Nicole and Greg Biffle’s daughter Emma.
The lawsuit alleges multiple incidents of negligence before the flight’s takeoff, including the failure to activate an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan before takeoff, and failing to turn on the plane’s generator following an unsuccessful start of the left engine.
[ READ MORE: NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, family dead in Statesville plane crash ]
“Dennis Dutton initiated the starting sequence with an attempted battery start of the left engine, but could not achieve a successful start of that engine. He then proceeded to start the right engine and used that engine to cross-feed electric power to the left engine, which eventually started,” the lawsuit alleges.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has not finalized the incident report on the crash, but a preliminary report confirms the engine’s failure to initially start, along with other claims made in the lawsuit.
Nicole Biffle also alleges Dutton was flying dangerously at low altitude, in violation of federal regulations.
“... The aircraft was almost certainly just below or in the base of a cloud layer with visibility deteriorating rapidly. This type of flying is commonly referred to as “scud running,” an illegal and dangerous aviation practice in which the pilot flies at a very low altitude to try to stay below clouds, rather than flying under instrument flight rules (IFR). This high-risk behavior is a frequent cause of fatal accidents due to controlled flight into obstacles or terrain," according to the lawsuit.
Although the IFR plan was not activated, it had been filed by the pilot, and according to the NTSB report. There were three attempts within two minutes to activate it after the plane was airborne, the report also stated.
Those attempts were unsuccessful, and the pilot and passenger were unable to contact air traffic control due to “...the controller’s workload and associated radio communications,” the preliminary report reads.
Federal regulations allow pilots to fly without IFR plans in uncontrolled airspace below certain altitudes; however, there are instances when it would be considered a violation, particularly when flying in inclement weather conditions.
“NTSB has previously ruled that under certain conditions that “Take off into clouds without an ATC clearance or release was ‘extremely dangerous’ and in violation of section 91.13(a),” an FAA memo from 2016 reads.
The failure to activate the flight plan isn’t the only allegation of negligence; there are also allegations that the failure to power up the plane’s generator significantly contributed to the crash.
Crash investigators said minutes into the flight, the plane’s autopilot system was shut off, and the cockpit voice recording system degraded significantly. Although the report does not explicitly say these issues were caused by a loss or lack of power, the lawsuit claims these power issues are to blame for the emergency.
Voice recordings reveal Biffle asking Dutton about the plane’s alternator (the FAA notes the plane does not have an alternator but is equipped with a generator). It also details that moments after the discussion about the “alternator” and a response indicating “that was the problem,” audio quality on the voice recording system was restored. The NTSB notes there was no audio indicating what exactly the problem was -- or what was done to address it.
The lawsuit claims that the failure of Dutton to turn on the generator was the problem, and that after the question about the alternator, the generator was turned on.
“Moments after the generator switch was turned on, all electric power was restored, and the emergency’ was over. Tragically, the tight, short, and low approach continued, and an airplane with full instrumentation and two operating engines was about to be flown into the ground, killing all aboard,” according to the suit.
Dutton’s estate is not the only defendant in the suit. Greg Biffle’s estate, as well as his aviation company, GB Aviation Leasing, LLC, are also being sued and allege Biffle, himself, was negligent and contributed to the fatal crash.
“Greg Biffle, who was a licensed multi-engine pilot as well as the aircraft’s owner, exercised significant dominion and control over the operation of the accident aircraft and directly participated in and advocated for several critical decisions that directly and proximately caused or served as precursors to the fatal crash that killed all of the occupants of his aircraft,” the lawsuit alleges.
While the lawsuit, itself, does not state a specific amount of damages Nicole Biffle is suing for, a separate claim against the estate of Dennis Dutton filed in February 2026 reveals she is seeking millions.
“The amount of the claim, which arose on December 18, 2025, is an amount in excess of $10,000,000 or such sum as may be determined at trial by jury, after instructions by the presiding judge, to be fair and reasonable compensation for the wrongful death or Emma Elizabeth Biffle,” that claim against the estate reads.
The lawsuit was filed in mid-May, and so far, none of the defendants have submitted any responses to the court.