Chilling New Details Revealed in North Carolina Plane Crash That Killed Grammy-Winning Songwriter Brett James

New details have emerged about the Sept. 18 plane crash that killed country singer songwriter Brett James.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) revealed in a new report obtained by PEOPLE that James piloted the private Cirrus SR22T plane and had “requested a visual approach” to land on the runway. He then attempted to make a full turn while landing before losing control of the aircraft.

James departed from John C. Tune Airport (JCA) in Nashville, heading for Macon County Airport (MCA) in Franklin, N.C., before the fatal crash on Sept. 18. His wife Melody Carole, 59, and her daughter Meryl Wilson, 28, were also on board and did not survive.

At around 2:48 p.m. local time, James approached MCA to land, reporting that he was at 6,800 ft and “intended to perform a 360° turn to land” on the runway, per the report.

Air traffic control received no further transmissions from James after that, the NTSB stated. 

The plane then began “a descending left turn from 6,300 ft” and made a full turn before approaching the runway at 3,300 ft, per the report.

“Surveillance video showed the airplane flying over the runway before initiating a descending left turn. The airplane continued descending in the left turn before entering a tightening spiral and impacting the ground,” said the NTSB.

Multiple witnesses reported seeing the plane flying at a low altitude near the airport and over a nearby school playground. The aircraft was “rocking from side-to-side” and eventually began “rolling inverted and descending behind a tree line,” the report stated.

According to flight records, James’ plane departed from JCA at 12:41 p.m. local time. He crashed just over two hours later in an open field in Franklin, west of North Carolina’s Iotla Valley Elementary School. 

No signs of engine failure were found in NTSB’s investigation. The jet was recovered and is undergoing further examination.

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The tragic plane crash came days after James and his wife Carole and celebrated her daughter Wilson’s 28th birthday, as shared in a post on Carole’s Instagram.

James is survived by his adult children, whom he shares with ex-wife Sandra Cornelius-Little.