By KATHY McCORMACK and JOSH FUNK

Grammy award-winning country songwriter Brett James, whose string of top hits includes “Jesus Take the Wheel” by Carrie Underwood and “When The Sun Goes Down” by Kenny Chesney, died in a plane crash in North Carolina, authorities said Friday. He was 57.

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The small plane with three people aboard crashed Thursday afternoon “under unknown circumstances” in the woods in Franklin, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a preliminary report. There were no survivors, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said in a statement.

James was on a Cirrus SR22T, which was registered to him under his legal name of Brett James Cornelius, according to information provided by the FAA. It was not known if he was the pilot. The patrol confirmed his dea

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