Among the victims are believed to be retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, his wife and the couple's two children.
"I am devastated by the loss of Greg, Cristina and their children," writes Richard Hudson, a congressman and friend of the family, in a statement on X.
The crash occurred on Thursday morning local time in Statesville, just north of the city of Charlotte. Images from the scene show flames rising from the Cessna C550 plane.
Darren Campbell of the local sheriff's office confirmed to AFP that all seven on board died.
The plane, owned by Biffle's company, had just taken off when it returned to the airport to land. It crashed at a golf course where several people witnessed the accident, scattering wreckage across one of the holes.
It was cloudy and drizzling at the time of the crash, writes AP.
