Nashville songwriter Brett James, a Grammy-winning hitmaker known for penning some of country music’s most celebrated songs, died Thursday in a plane crash in North Carolina. He was 57.

The musician, whose full name was Brett James Cornelius, was one of three people aboard a Cirrus SR22T aircraft that went down west of Iotla Valley Elementary School in Franklin, North Carolina, around 3 p.m. local time on Sept. 18. The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that there were no survivors and said it will investigate the incident alongside the National Transportation Safety Board.

Flight records indicate that the plane, owned by James, departed from John C. Tune Airport in Nashville shortly before the crash. Authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Macon County Sheriff’s Office.

James was widely celebrated in the music community for his work as a songwriter and collaborator with some of country music’s biggest names. In 2020, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, which paid tribute to him on social media, calling him “a trusted collaborator to country’s greatest names, and a true advocate for his fellow songwriters.”

Among his most notable contributions to the genre was co-writing Carrie Underwood’s chart-topping hit “Jesus Take the Wheel,” cementing his reputation as one of the industry’s leading voices behind the scenes.

The loss of Brett James marks a tragic moment for Nashville and the broader country music community, leaving behind a legacy of songs that have shaped the sound and storytelling of modern country music.