From the New York Post: Grammy Award-winning country music songwriter Brett James was flying on his private jet with his new wife and her 28-year-old daughter, who had just celebrated her birthday, when the plane crashed and killed them, officials said Friday.
James, 57 — who co-wrote and wrote songs for Taylor Swift, Dierks Bentley and Carrie Underwood — was with wife Melody Wilson, 59, and her daughter, Meryl Maxwell Wilson, on the hitmaker’s Cirrus SR22T when it crashed in an open field in Franklin, North Carolina, Thursday afternoon, according to the Daily Mail.
Wilson, who lived with James in a lavish $2 million Nashville home since at least 2020, had wished her daughter a happy 28th birthday just one day before the plane went down.
James’ single-engine aircraft had departed from John C. Tune Airport in Nashville before it inexplicably slammed into the field, near Iotla Valley Elementary School, at around 3 p.m. Thursday. No students or faculty were injured.
According to flight records, the 2016 SR22T aircraft was registered to James, under his real name, Brett Cornelius.. He was from Brentwood, Tennessee.
On June 16, he posted a Father’s photo which appears to be of himself and his wife, and her daughter, along with his four adult children, who he shared with ex-wife Sandra Cornelius-Little.
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James had posted a photo of himself and his wife in June, while they were vacationing in the Bahamas.
View this post on Instagram
On Tuesday, Melody Wilson had wished her daughter a happy birthday on Instagram.
Her final Instagram post was a tribute to actor Robert Redford, who just passed away on Tuesday.
READ MORE from the New York Post.
UPDATE: Brett James’ wife, Melody Carole Wilson, and her daughter, Meryl Maxwell Wilson, have been confirmed as the other two passengers in yesterday's fatal, North Carolina plane crash, a close friend of James' tells FOX 17 News. https://t.co/XiAlMdU9vg pic.twitter.com/IYQNEJx5ph
— FoxNashville (@FOXNashville) September 19, 2025
TRAGEDY: Grammy-winning songwriter among 3 dead in plane crash: ‘Total legend’
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