Songwriter Brett James’ plane entered a ‘tightening spiral’ before crashing, the NTSB said in a preliminary report

By Alexandra Skores, CNN

Washington (CNN) — The plane Grammy-winning songwriter Brett James was piloting entered a “tightening spiral” before it crashed and killed everyone on board last month, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

James, 57, was flying his single engine plane on Sept. 18, when it crashed into a field in Franklin, North Carolina, about 270 miles southeast of Nashville. All three people on board were killed.

James had requested a visual approach to runway 7, which air traffic control approved, according to the report.

The controller told James to tune his radio to the common traffic advisory frequency, used by pilots to announce their location when there is no air traffic control tower. James never changed the frequency but instead announced he was at 6,800 feet and was going to perform a 360-degree turn to land on runway 7. The controller tried to tell him he had not changed his radio, but there were no more communications from James.

The plane, a Cirrus SR22T, then flew over the runway before descending into a left turn. It continued to descend, before entering the spiral then crashing.

NTSB investigators examined the wreckage and the report did not note any mechanical problems.

James worked with megastars including Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi and Keith Urban. He also cowrote Kenny Chesney’s “Out Last Night” and was regarded as one of the industry’s most sought-after collaborators. His biggest break came in 2005, when “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” a song he cowrote with Hillary Lindsay and Gordie Sampson, was attached to the debut album of Carrie Underwood, fresh off her success as “American Idol” champion.

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