What we know:

Brett James, the Grammy-winning songwriter best known for writing hit songs like Carrie Underwood’s "Jesus, Take the Wheel," has died. He was 57.

The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame announced his death in a Facebook post, explaining that he was killed in a plane crash on Thursday.

James and two other people were killed when a small plane crash occurred near Iotla Valley Elementary School in North Carolina. WRDW-TV in North Carolina, citing FlightAware data, reported that a Cirrus SR22T plane took off from John C. Tune Airport in Nashville before it crashed in North Carolina.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol confirmed James' death Friday. The other two people on the plane were Melody Carole and Meryl Maxwell Wilson, the patrol confirmed.

What we don't

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