Qualla: 2004 Hendrick Motorsports Aircraft Crash

2004 Hendrick Motorsports Aircraft Crash: Introduction

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit National Transportation Safety Board, Public domain. Jimmie Johnson won the race that afternoon and didn't celebrate. He couldn't, because by the time the checkered flag fell at Martinsville Speedway on October 24, 2004, word had reached NASCAR's mobile operations trailer that a Beechcraft King Air 200 belonging to Hendrick Motorsports — the team Johnson drove for — had not landed at the Blue Ridge Airport that morning. The plane carried ten people. Among them were the team president, his twin daughters, the team owner's only son, the team's chief engine builder, an executive from a sponsor, another driver's pilot, and the two crew members who had been flying the King Air. Wreckage was eventually located on Bull Mountain in Patrick County. None of the ten had survived.

Image: National Transportation Safety Board | Public domain

2004 Hendrick Motorsports Aircraft Crash: The Manifest

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit National Transportation Safety Board, Public domain. It is right to name them. John Hendrick, 53, the president of Hendrick Motorsports and the older brother of team owner Rick Hendrick. Ricky Hendrick, 24, Rick's only son, a former Busch Series driver and the heir who was just stepping into the management side of the company. Kimb...

Image: National Transportation Safety Board | Public domain

2004 Hendrick Motorsports Aircraft Crash: Flight Context

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit National Transportation Safety Board, Public domain. The crash site is on Bull Mountain near Stuart, Virginia, at approximately 36.706 N, 80.192 W, in the Blue Ridge foothills of northern Patrick County. The intended destination was Blue Ridge Airport (KMTV) near Martinsville, Virginia, 30 nm northeast. The departure airport was Concord-Padgett Regional (KJQF), 80 nm south in North Carolina. From cruising altitude on a clear day, look for the wooded ridge of Bull Mountain rising to 2,800 feet above the surrounding terrain. Mountain Empire Airport (KMKJ) at Rural Retreat, Va., serves the general aviation traffic in the upper Blue Ridge. The crash is remembered each October at Martinsville Speedway with a moment of silence.

Image: National Transportation Safety Board | Public domain

2004 Hendrick Motorsports Aircraft Crash: Bull Mountain

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit National Transportation Safety Board, Public domain. Nine seconds after the missed-approach call, the plane disappeared from radar. The King Air had not climbed. According to the NTSB's eventual report, it had descended to 1,800 feet and struck Bull Mountain near Stuart, Virginia — about 30 miles southwest of the destination airpor...

Image: National Transportation Safety Board | Public domain

2004 Hendrick Motorsports Aircraft Crash: The Race That Did Not Stop

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit National Transportation Safety Board, Public domain. The Subway 500 was halfway run when NASCAR officials at the speedway began hearing the first reports. They chose not to red-flag the race. Drivers were not told. The Hendrick crew — Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Terry Labonte, Brian Vickers — were in their cars, running. Jimmie Jo...

Image: National Transportation Safety Board | Public domain

2004 Hendrick Motorsports Aircraft Crash: What They Left Behind

Sun, 31 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit National Transportation Safety Board, Public domain. The week after, the Atlanta Motor Speedway lowered its flags to half staff before both NASCAR races. All four Hendrick cars carried tribute hoods. The number 0 car that Ward Burton drove for Hendrick-affiliated Haas CNC Racing carried one too. When Jimmie Johnson won at Atlanta, ...

Image: National Transportation Safety Board | Public domain