Brett James, a Grammy-winning country music songwriter, died in a plane crash in North Carolina on September 18, 2025. He was 57 years old. The crash involved his Cirrus SR22T aircraft, which went down in a field near Franklin, North Carolina, under unknown circumstances. Along with Brett James, the other two occupants—his wife Melody Wilson and her daughter Meryl Maxwell Wilson—also perished in the crash. The flight had originated from John C. Tune Airport in Nashville. The exact cause of the crash is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Brett James was renowned for writing numerous hit songs, including "Jesus, Take the Wheel" by Carrie Underwood, which won a Grammy Award for Best Country Song. He was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020.
