Officials are crediting the heroic actions of the pilots on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s private jet for evacuating the NASCAR legend and his family from his burning plane during the crash, this according to new documents.
After the plane crash landed in Elizabethton, Tennessee on August 15 ... it caught fire and began to burn.
But, while the flames raged, "the flight crew [which only consisted of the pilot and co-pilot] secured the engines and assisted the passengers with the evacuation," according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The NTSB has been investigating the crash and while they have not specifically released the cause .