NASCAR legend Mark Martin, who additionally misplaced his father in a airplane crash in 1998, was reminded of his personal loss, listening to of fellow former Cup driver Greg Biffle’s tragic demise in an aviation catastrophe. On Thursday, December 18, 55-year-old Biffle handed away in a jet crash, which took away the lives of his spouse, Cristina, and two youngsters at Statesville Regional Airport.
Martin’s father, Julian Martin, piloted a twin-engine Piper that crashed on August 8, 1998. That crash additionally killed Julian’s spouse and an 11-year-old daughter. The dual-engine Piper went down close to Nice Basin Nationwide Park and began a forest hearth.
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Mark Martin, then 39, discovered of the deaths after his NASCAR Cup race at Watkins Glen.
“Oh my god. This information jogs my memory [of] the tragedy that occurred in 1998. Devastating,” Mark Martin replied to a put up on X.
Biffle’s enterprise jet crashed whereas making an attempt to return to the airport. Officers have confirmed that an eight-seater airplane went down and caught hearth, killing seven folks on board. Federal investigators have additionally opened an investigation into the reason for the crash.
Whereas the crash shocked followers, it’s not the primary plane accident the NASCAR world has suffered. In 1993, Alan Kulwicki died when the airplane he was in crashed on strategy to a Tennessee airport. That very same 12 months, Davey Allison died in a helicopter crash at Talladega.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. additionally survived a scary airplane crash in August 2019, when the small plane he and his household had been in veered off a Tennessee runway and caught hearth. Everybody on board, together with his spouse Amy and their younger daughter, walked away with solely minor accidents.
“Savage to our racing group and households” – Mark Martin highlights NASCAR’s loss to aviation accidents
Whereas air journey is without doubt one of the most secure modes of journey as we speak, research have discovered that scheduled industrial flights are safer than non-public jets or smaller plane. In 2022, the Nationwide Journey and Security Board (NTSB) within the USA reported extra deadly accidents per 100,000 flight hours than industrial carriers.
Mark Martin additionally touched on the identical challenge in his newest put up on X.
“I am unable to assist feeling indignant. Aviation is a really secure solution to journey BUT has been savage to our racing group and households all through historical past,” Martin Martin wrote.
In 2004, a Beechcraft King Air airplane, carrying members of the Hendrick Motorsports household, additionally crashed on the best way to Martinsville. It killed younger Ricky Hendrick and different group members.
Curtis Turner, recognized for his wins within the Fifties and get together life-style, was additionally killed when a airplane, which he was piloting himself, crashed in 1970.
Edited by Hitesh Nigam
