Former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., his family escape plane crash in Tennessee without serious injuries: Sheriff
Former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his wife and child escaped a plane crash in Tennessee without serious injuries on Thursday, said Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford.
The Cessna Citation rolled off the end of a runway after landing at Elizabethton Municipal Airport in Elizabethton, about 65 miles north of Asheville, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Two pilots were on board, according to the FAA.
The plane touched down about halfway down the runway, Elizabethton Mayor Curt Alexander said in a statement. The pilot has flown in and out of the airport many times, Alexander said.
The former race car driver was taken to Johnson City Medical Center. He was the only person on board who was hospitalized, according to the sheriff.
His injuries were described as cuts and abrasions.
An NBC Sports spokesperson released a statement that Earnhardt has been discharged from the hospital. Earnhardt works for NBC Sports as a race analyst.
Earnhardt told ESPN's Marty Smith via text message that he and his family are OK.
Mike Davis, a spokesman for Earnhardt, tweeted that they are "grateful for the outpouring of concern and support" and that "everyone is doing well enough."
Earnhardt's sister, Kelley Earnhardt, tweeted: "I can confirm Dale, Amy & Isla along with his two pilots were involved in a crash... Everyone is safe and has been taken to the hospital for further evaluation."
Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will send two investigators to Elizabethton to look into the accident, the agency said.
