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Country music songwriter Brett James, who was best known for penning hit songs such as Carrie Underwood\u2019s \u201cJesus Take the Wheel\u201d and Kenny Chesney\u2019s \u201cWhen the Sun Goes Down,\u201d has died in a plane crash with his wife and stepdaughter on September 19. He was 57.<\/p>\n
According to reports<\/a>, a small-engine plane registered to James went down in Franklin, North Carolina, near Iotla Valley Elementary School after departing from Nashville just a few hours prior.<\/p>\n \u201cA 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,\u201d the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement. \u201cThe FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide further updates.\u201d<\/p>\n Singer Carrie Underwood took to Instagram to pay tribute to the songwriter with a touching post about James and the devastation of his loss to the country music community:<\/p>\n \u201cSome things are just unfathomable. The loss of Brett James to his family, friends, and our music community is too great to put into words,\u201d wrote the singer.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cBrett was the epitome of \u2018cool.\u2019 I see him in my mind riding up to my cabins to write on his motorcycle\u2026his hair somehow perfectly coiffed despite being under a helmet for however long. I always loved hearing him sing \u2018Cowboy Casanova\u2019 because a sassy girl anthem should\u2019ve sounded ridiculous coming from a macho dude like him, but somehow, he even made that cool,\u201d posted Underwood.<\/p>\n \u201cBrett\u2019s passing is leaving a hole in all of us that I fear won\u2019t ever go away. It will forever be a reminder that this life is but a moment\u2026we have to make the most of each day we\u2019re given here on earth. Each day is a gift. I\u2019m asking all of you to pray for his family, friends, and all of us that were blessed enough to know Brett. Love you, man. I\u2019ll see you again someday,\u201d concluded Underwood.<\/p>\n The Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame announced the loss of the songwriter on their Instagram page with the following post: \u201cWe mourn the untimely loss of Hall of Fame member Brett James (\u201cJesus Take The Wheel\u201d \/ \u201cWhen The Sun Goes Down\u201d), a 2020 inductee who was killed in a small-engine airplane crash on Sept. 18. He was 57.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the latest entertainment news on TV Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n