Taylor Swift was named next of kin by a pilot who died in a Nashville plane crash.

Paula Erickson, the star's publicist, wrote in an email to news website The Tennessean: "Taylor does not known this person.

"The first we heard of this was when the appropriate authorities contacted Taylor's management about the crash."

Authorities heard from the Federal Aviation Administration that Michael had listed the 23-year-old as his next of kin with his flying club in Canada and that information was relayed to Taylor.

Michael's plane went down on October 29 at Nashville International Airport, 500 miles from where he planned to land.

Authorities say he circled the airport for as long as two-and-a-half hours before attempting to land, and the wreckage wasn't discovered for several hours.

The pilot was unmarried and had no children but his family have spoken out about his death and say they had no idea how he ended up in Nashville.

The alarm was only raised when another pilot at the airport spotted the wreckage at 8.45am and the crash is being investigated.

Taylor, who is known as 'Nashville's Sweetheart', has had a home in the city for a number of years near Vanderbilt University, with 20-foot-high windows and stunning panoramic views.