One of the black boxes from the plane crash that killed former NASCAR driver Greg Biffle and his family was found, the NTSB said during a news briefing Friday afternoon.
The black box from the Cessna C550 is en route to Washington D.C., where it will be inspected.
NTSB officials also shared some additional details on the moments before the Thursday morning crash. The aircraft reportedly departed a runway at Statesville Regional Airport in North Carolina 10 minutes before the accident, then made a left turn, followed by another left turn back toward the airport about five minutes into the flight.
"The initial point of impact was a runway light stanchion located about 1,800 feet from the runway threshold," said Senior Air Safety Investigator Dan Baker. "The airplane subsequently impacted trees, two other runway light stanchions and the airport perimeter fence short of the runway threshold before coming to rest near the runway threshold."
The aircraft crashed at about 10:15 a.m. while trying to land back on the runway, said Michael Graham, an NTSB board member.
"We believe the plane was turning back to the airport immediately, maybe for some kind of issue," Graham said. "At this point, we are not aware if there was an actual issue or not."
No mayday call was issued by the aircraft, Graham said. The aircraft was manufactured in 1981 by the Cessna Aircraft Company, according to Baker.
After impact, a fire consumed the majority of the aircraft's fuselage and its wings near the fuselage, Baker said
"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," according to Baker.
According to the NTSB, the wind was calm, but there were low ceilings and heavy rain at the time of the crash, which the administration is looking into as a potential cause. Officials confirmed that seven people were killed in the crash, but did not identify any of the victims.
It is believed that Biffle, his wife and two children were on the plane when it crashed, according to 1st Sgt. Chris Knox of the North Carolina Highway Patrol. Three other people, identified as Craig Wadsworth, Dennis Dutton and his son Jack Dutton, were also on the flight.
The NTSB officials said they do not know who was flying the plane, but that there were three people onboard with pilot's licenses.
A team of 16 NTSB experts arrived on scene Thursday night and have been gathering evidence and working on determining a probable cause. They will stay in North Carolina as long as they believe is necessary to gather evidence for the investigation, Graham said.
"I want to emphasize, this is the beginning of a very long process, and we will not jump to any conclusions while we're here on scene in North Carolina, nor will we speculate," Graham said.
The NTSB expects to submit a preliminary report in 30 days, and a full investigation after a year to 18 months.
The Federal Aviation Administration, the manufacturer of the aircraft, Textron Aviation, and the engine's manufacturer, Pratt & Whitney Canada are all assisting in the investigation, Graham said.
Graham is asking anyone with video or pictures of the crash to contact the NTSB.
