Grammy-winning country songwriter Brett James, whose string of top hits includes by Carrie Underwood and by Kenny Chesney, died in a plane crash in North Carolina, authorities said Friday. He was 57.

The small plane with three people aboard crashed Thursday afternoon "under unknown circumstances" in the woods in Franklin, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a preliminary report. There were no survivors, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said in a statement. James was on a Cirrus SR22T, which was registered to him under his legal name of Brett James Cornelius, according to information provided by the FAA.

It was not known whether James was the pilot. The patrol confirmed his death. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board said they will investigate the c

See Full Page