This archive report was first published on 15 August 2019.
A private jet carrying former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family crashed on a highway near Elizabethton Airport in Tennessee on Thursday, August 15, 2019, bursting into flames after veering off the runway.
Fortunately, Earnhardt and his wife were unhurt and quickly evacuated the plane, according to Elizabethton Fire Chief Barry Carrier, as reported by local television station WJHL.
The National Transportation Safety Board identified the plane as a Cessna Citation model 680.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there were three passengers on board the plane, along with two pilots.
It's worth noting that Earnhardt Jr. and his company, JR Motorsports, had signed a sponsorship deal with Textron Aviation in February 2016, which included the use of a Cessna Citation business jet for travel.
