James was inducted into the Hall 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.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are now investigating what caused the plane – which departed from Nashville, Tennessee at around 12.41pm – to suddenly go down.

In the meantime, the hitmaker is now being remembered for his country tunes, including Underwood’s Grammy-winning ‘Jesus, Take The Wheel’ and ‘The Truth’ by Jason Aldean.

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

He also worked as a producer, serving on the boards of Country Music Association and the Recording Academy. Additionally, James owned the