Overview

• ASCAP publicly confirmed James’s death following a small-plane crash near Franklin in Macon County, North Carolina.
• Local outlets reported that three people were aboard the aircraft and there were no survivors.
• Reports indicate the plane was a single-engine Cirrus SR22T that departed Nashville’s John C. Tune Airport, a detail not yet confirmed by authorities.
• Some coverage said the aircraft crashed in a field near Iotla Valley Elementary School in Franklin, with no injuries reported on the ground.
• James, inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020, co-wrote Carrie Underwood’s Grammy-winning Jesus Take the Wheel and numerous other hits.