Grammy-Winning Songwriter Brett James Dies in Plane Crash
Brett James, the Grammy Award-winning songwriter behind some of country music’s biggest hits, including “Jesus Take the Wheel” and “I Hold On,” was killed in a plane crash in North Carolina on Thursday afternoon.
James, 57, was one of three people aboard a single-engine Cirrus SR22T aircraft that departed from john C. Tune Airport in Nashville before it crashed into an open field near Iotla Valley Elementary School in Franklin, NC, according to WTVF.
All three people on the plane died. The identities of the other two victims have not been released.
No students or staff at the school, located next to Macon County Airport, were hurt in the crash.
The 2016 SR22T aircraft was registered to James,under his legal name,brett Cornelius,in Brentwood,Tenn., according to flight records.
James was supposed to start the 250-mile flight at 1:15 p.m., but didn’t leave Nashville until after 1:40 p.m. The plane crashed just before 3 p.m.
First responders were seen covering the white plane with a tarp after it landed in the field, as shown in footage from WYFF.