Details of the small plane crash in North Carolina emerged after Carrie Underwood paid tribute to the “unfathomable” loss of her frequent collaborator and Grammy winner for her hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel.”
One month after the tragic death of singer-songwriter Brett James, 57, new details are emerging about what happened as he attempted to land his small plane at Macon County Airport only to go into a spiral and crash. James’ wife and her daughter also died in the accident.
According to the preliminary report of the September 18 accident reviewed by Fox affiliate WFXB, surveillance cameras captured James’ Cirrus SR22T on its descent when it suddenly went into a “tightening spiral” before ultimately hitting the ground near an elementary school.
Witnesses described seeing the plane flying at an unusually low altitude over the school’s playground near the airport at around 2:48 p.m. when James “requested a visual approach” to MCA, per the National Transportation Safety Board reported on by People.
He reported that he had the runway in sight and was approved to switch to common traffic advisory frequency, per WFXB, before he said he was at 6,800 feet and “intended to perform a 360° turn to land,” per the report. That was the final transmission from his craft.
James was piloting the small plane on a personal flight under visual conditions, per the news station, with his wife Melody Carole, 59, and her daughter Meryl Wilson, 28, also on board.
The report states that James’ aircraft was “rocking from side-to-side” as it approached the airport and ultimately began “rolling inverted and descending behind a tree line.” He came down in an open field about a half-mile away from the airport and just west of Iotla Valley Elementary School.
The plane reportedly was upright in the field with all major components still present at the scene when investigators arrived. There were no signs of engine failure, per the NTSB report, but investigations into the plane are ongoing.
A 2020 inductee into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, James is perhaps best known for his work on Kenny Chesney’s “When the Sun Goes Down” and Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel.” He also co-wrote “Flat on the Floor” and “Cowboy Casanova” with Underwood, who paid tribute to her collaborator and friend after the accident.
“Some things are just unfathomable,” she began her September 19 caption on Instagram.
Carrie Underwood Reacts to ‘Unfathomable’ Death of Musician Brett James
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“The loss of Brett James to his family, friends and our music community is too great to put into words,” Underwood continued. “Brett was the epitome of ‘cool.’ I see him in my mind riding up to my cabins to write on his motorcycle [and] his hair somehow perfectly coiffed despite being under a helmet for however long.”
She added: “He was a good guy. I remember writing with him on a song that he basically wrote 75% of and had ready when he walked in the room. We filled in the blanks and added a little melody and I told him after that I didn’t feel right splitting the credit evenly when he did most of the work. He wouldn’t have it. He insisted that everything be equal. He was just that kind of guy…”
She noted that his death left “a hole in all of us that [she feared] won’t ever go away.”
“It will forever be a reminder that this life is but a moment,” added Underwood.
The 42-year-old ended the caption with “love you, man. I’ll see you again someday.”
