Grammy-Winning songwriter Brett James dies in North Carolina plane crash

Brett James died on Thursday

Grammy-winning singer and songwriter Brett James reportedly died in a plane crash in North Carolina on Thursday. He was 57.

According to FOX 17, he was one of three people who died after a small-engine plane crashed down west of North Carolina’s Iotla Valley Elementary School in North Carolina on September 18.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement to the outlet that there were no survivors in the crash.

The statement continued, “A Cirrus SR22T crashed in a field in Franklin, North Carolina, around 3 p.m. local time on Thursday, Sept. 18. Three people were on board.” The FAA further reassured that it will investigate the incident with the National Transportation Safety Board.

The FlightAware data suggested that the plane was registered to the musician. The report also suggested that the Cirrus SR22T aircraft left Nashville, Tennessee and crashed in Macon County at around 3 pm on Thursday.

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame remembered the musician in a Facebook post and wrote, “We mourn the untimely loss of Hall of Fame member Brett James (“Jesus Take The Wheel” / “When The Sun Goes Down”), a 2020 inductee who was killed in a small-engine airplane crash on Sept. 18. He was 57.”

Bret, whose full name was Brett James Cornelius, quit the medical school to pursue music. He released his first solo album in 1995. The musician started writing for popular singers like Billy Ray Cyrus and Kenny Chesney.

Bret landed his first of 26 number-one singles in 2001 with Jessica Andrews’ hit Who I Am.

He went on to write over 300 songs for major labels, including Jesus, Take The Wheel which won best country song at the Grammys. Bret was announced as the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020.

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He marked the occasion with I Am Now, his first self-written album in over two decades. However, he was officially inducted at the 2021 ceremony, after the pandemic forced the postponement.