The small plane with three people aboard crashed on Thursday afternoon "under unknown circumstances" in the woods in Franklin, North Carolina, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a preliminary report.
There were no survivors, the State Highway Patrol said in a statement.
The other two people on the plane were his wife Melody Carole Wilson, 59, and her daughter Meryl Maxwell Wilson, 28, according to media reports.
James, 57, 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 death. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.
The plane had taken off from John C Tune Airport in Nashville.
James was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2020.
The organisation posted an online statement of mourning.
A native of Oklahoma City, James left medical school to pursue a music career in Nashville, according his biography on the Hall of Fame's site.
His first No.1 hit was Who I Am in 2001, by Jessica Andrews.
Jesus, Take the Wheel, which he co-wrote for Underwood, earned the 2006 Grammy for best country song, among other honours.
James had more than 500 of his songs recorded, for albums with combined sales of more than 110 million copies, according to his Grand Ole Opry biography online.
Other artists who sang his songs include Faith Hill, Kelly Clarkson, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Nick Jonas and Meghan Trainor.
Additional hits include Cowboy Casanova by Underwood, Out Last Night by Chesney and Summer Nights by Rascal Flatts.
"Heartbroken to hear of the loss of my friend Brett James tonight," country singer Jason Aldean posted on X.
"I had nothing but love and respect for that guy and he helped change my life. Honored to have met him and worked with him."
James recorded his own album in 2020.
"At my stage in life, I'm not going to write about driving around in pickup trucks, chasing girls," he was quoted as saying on the Opry site.
"It needed to feel more classic, lyrically. They all wound up being love songs, but hopefully love songs with a twist, that haven't all been written before."
