A songwriter renowned for collaborating with stars such as Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood tragically died in a small plane crash on Thursday, alongside two others.

Brett James, aged 57, was aboard his Cirrus SR22T when it crashed near Iotla Valley Elementary School around 3 p.m. in Franklin, North Carolina, as reported by WLOS.

The devastating accident claimed the lives of James and the two other occupants at the scene, with the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame revealing the heartbreaking news later that night. James became a Hall of Fame inductee in 2020.

Students and staff at the nearby elementary school were left uninjured in relation to the crash, the Macon County Sheriff’s Office has said. 

Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched investigations to determine why the aircraft – which took off from Nashville, Tennessee at approximately 12:41 p.m. – encountered a sudden descent.

During his illustrious career, the songwriter is being celebrated for his contributions to country music, such as Underwood’s Grammy-winning track ‘Jesus, Take The Wheel’ and Jason Aldean’s ‘The Truth’.

For his work, James was twice named the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ Country Songwriter of the year.

In addition to his songwriting prowess, he was also a producer, actively participating on the boards of the Country Music Association and the Recording Academy. Furthermore, James was the proprietor of the publishing company Cornman Music.

But James, who was born on June 5, 1968, in Columbia, Missouri, had initially intended to pursue a career in medicine, Country Now reports.

He was halfway through medical school, when he left college to follow his passion for music.

James then signed to Arista Nashville’s imprint Career Records as a solo artist and released his first solo album in 1995.  

He earned his first number one hit just six years later with Jessica Andrews’ ‘Who I Am.’ 

It was his work with Underwood, however, that solidified James as a renowned songwriter. She then performed the song when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame, which James called ‘truly the greatest honor of my life.’

He has since had more than 800 of his songs recorded by country artists and non-country artists alike, including the Backstreet Boys, Bon Jovi and Nick Jonas, according to Music Mayhem Magazine. 

James has previously said his goal was to create songs that connected with people on emotional levels. 

Following the news of his tragic death, fellow singers and songwriters took to social media to pay tribute to the icon.

‘I am absolutely devastated at the loss of one of the best writers I’ve ever written with and recorded several of his songs, Brett James,’ Sara Evans shared on Instagram.

‘I’m praying for his loved ones,’ she continued. ‘What a tragic and sad day. He will be so missed.’ 

Fellow songwriter Jessi Alexander also reminisced about the ‘many fun nights on stage we shared and memories we made traveling around making music together.

‘He lived large and always made me feel special,’ she said. ‘Music Row will never be the same.’ 

ASCAP further said it is mourning James’ loss, saying he ‘was a trusted collaborator to country’s greatest names and a true advocate for songwriters.

‘We miss him dearly.’ 

 This is a breaking news story and will be updated.