Overview

• The small aircraft went down around 3 p.m. Thursday in a field near Iotla Valley Elementary in Franklin, and the sheriff's office said students and staff were safe.
• The FAA said three people were on board and confirmed there were no survivors, and the NTSB has launched an investigation.
• Flight tracking shows the plane departed Nashville’s John C. Tune Airport and was registered in James’s name.
• Preliminary details list the aircraft as a Cirrus SR22T, with federal teams collecting evidence at the scene.
• James co-wrote the Grammy-winning “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” had 500-plus cuts with combined album sales over 110 million, and was mourned by ASCAP and artists including Dierks Bentley.