Last Text Message Before Crash: “We’re in Trouble” as Plane Kills Seven on Birthday Trip

Retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle’s wife, Cristina Grossu Biffle, sent an unsettling message to her mother moments before the fatal plane crash that killed the couple and their family along with three others.

“She texted me from the plane and she said, ‘We’re in trouble.’ And that was it,” a crying Cathy Grossu shared in an interview.

“So we’re devastated. We’re brokenhearted.”

The private aircraft crashed while attempting to return to Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina minutes after takeoff on Thursday. The incident occurred just before Greg Biffle and Cristina Grossu Biffle were scheduled for a birthday trip to Florida.

“To think that they would be killed on a birthday trip, that was just such a fun time for the family,” Grossu said. “And to see the horrific way that it ended, it’s just so hard to bear.”

The crash claimed seven lives: Greg Biffle, 55; Cristina Grossu Biffle, 35; their son Ryder, 5; Greg Biffle’s daughter Emma, 14, from his previous marriage; Dennis Dutton and his son Jack Dutton; and Craig Wadsworth.

Grossu revealed the family was at her home just the day before the tragedy. “I don’t remember what the last words that I said to my daughter or to Greg or to my precious Ryder,” she said. “I know we hugged, but I don’t remember those last words, and that’s going to haunt me.”

The families of Biffle, Dutton, and Wadsworth released a joint statement acknowledging their profound loss: “We are devastated by the loss of our loved ones. This tragedy has left all of our families heartbroken beyond words.”

Grossu described how Ryder and Emma, along with Greg Biffle, had been living vibrant lives filled with purpose before the crash. “They embraced every aspect of their life and every moment,” she said. “And it’s such a loss. They touched so many people’s lives.”