The small plane crash that claimed the lives of country songwriter Brett James, his wife, and stepdaughter on Sept. 18 was caught on camera, showing the aircraft spiraling out of control just moments before impact, according to a new report from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
James, 57, was piloting a Cirrus SR22T and had requested a visual approach to land at Macon County Airport (MCA) in Franklin, North Carolina. Investigators say he attempted a full turn during the landing before apparently losing control of the plane.
The Grammy-winning songwriter had departed from John C. Tune Airport (JCA) in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Melody Carole, 59, and her daughter, Meryl Wilson, 28. All three were killed in the crash.
According to the NTSB’s preliminary report, James radioed air traffic control around 2:48 p.m. local time, reporting that he was at 6,800 feet and intended to make a 360-degree turn to land. That was his last transmission.
Surveillance video captured the aircraft descending in a tightening left-hand spiral before it crashed in an open field roughly a quarter-mile from the runway.
“Multiple witnesses … reported observing the airplane flying at a low altitude near the airport and over a nearby school playground,” investigators wrote. The report noted that the plane was “rocking from side to side” before rolling inverted and vanishing behind the treeline.
Flight records show that James’ plane took off from Nashville at 12:41 p.m. and crashed just over two hours later near Iotla Valley Elementary School. No signs of engine failure were discovered, and the aircraft has been recovered for further analysis.
The tragedy came just days after the family had celebrated Wilson’s 28th birthday, according to a post shared on Carole’s Instagram.
James — best known for co-writing Carrie Underwood’s Grammy-winning hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel” — leaves behind his adult children from his previous marriage to Sandra Cornelius-Little.
