Deaths reported after business jet crashed at an airport in North Carolina

Associated Press
Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025 12:40 p.m. | Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025 12:40 p.m.

9139219_web1_9139219-b94f2b37d5bd4b14840b7fed7241ffa0

This screengrab made from video provided by WSOC shows firefighting crews responding Thursday to a reported plane crash at a regional airport in Statesville, N.C., erupting in a large fire. (WSOC via AP)

STATESVILLE, N.C. — A sheriff said there were deaths Thursday in the crash of a business jet that was trying to land at a regional airport in Statesville, North Carolina.

“I can confirm there were fatalities,” Iredell County Sheriff Grant Campbell said, though he declined to say how many.

The Federal Aviation Administration said a Cessna C550 crashed while landing at Statesville Regional Airport around 10:20 a.m. Thursday. The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating.

Video from WSOC-TV showed first responders rushing onto the runway as flames burned near scattered wreckage from the plane.

The airport’s website states that Statesville Regional Airport offers corporate aviation facilities for Fortune 500 companies and several NASCAR teams.

Statesville is about 45 miles north of Charlotte. Officials have not said whether there were injuries.