Brett James, a Hall of Fame inductee and accomplished songwriter, died in a plane crash yesterday. The small airplane crashed into a field, though the post-crash investigation is ongoing. 

2020 National Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee songwriter Brett James died in a Tennessee plane crash

Brett James, famous for writing such songs as “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “When the Sun Goes Down,” died in a plane crash yesterday. According to the flight tracker website FlightAware, the small airplane went down 270 miles southeast of its Nashville origin. It crashed into a field near Franklin, North Carolina. 

It’s unclear whether any other passengers were killed in the crash, but there were no casualties on the ground. A National Songwriters Hall of Fame social media post confirmed the legendary songwriter’s death. 

“We mourn the untimely loss of Hall of Fame member Brett James (“Jesus Take The Wheel” / “When The Sun Goes Down”), a 2020 inductee who was killed in a small-engine airplane crash on Sept. 18,” the post said. A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation is ongoing. James was 57.

The crash highlights the reality of small airplanes. In short, they don’t have a safety record like larger or commercial aircraft. According to the NTSB, any aviation event that results in significant damage or injury involving an aircraft constitutes an “accident.”

It’s true, smaller aircraft have more aviation incidents than commercial airliners. In 2019, there were 1,220 accidents in general aviation, 233 of which were fatal. Commercial aviation, on the other hand, had 40 accidents and two fatalities.

As for accident rates, there were 0.2 accidents per 100,000 miles flown for commercial aviation. General aviation’s rate was 28 times that much at 5.6 accidents for every 100,000 miles flown.