Overview

• Authorities confirmed the small plane went down around 3 p.m. Thursday in a field near Franklin, North Carolina, killing all three people aboard.
• Flight records show the aircraft departed Nashville’s John C. Tune Airport and the FAA lists the Cirrus SR22T as registered to Brett James Cornelius, James’ legal name.
• The North Carolina State Highway Patrol identified the other victims as Melody Carole and Meryl Maxwell Wilson.
• Local officials said the crash occurred adjacent to Iotla Valley Elementary School, and all students and staff were safe.
• James won a 2006 Grammy for co-writing Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020, and was widely mourned by peers and industry groups.