'Titanic' composer dies in California plane crash

Hollywood composer James Horner holds up two Oscars after winning for Best Original Song and Original Dramatic Score for his work on the movie 'Titanic' at the 70th Annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, in this file photo taken March 23, 1998. [Photo/Agencies]

Horner, 61, won two Academy Awards for his work on "Titanic", one for the score and one shared with lyricist Will Jennings for best original song - "My Heart Will Go On", performed by Celine Dion.

Horner also composed the music for "Aliens", "The Karate Kid", "Braveheart" and a string of other major films. His scores for "Avatar", "A Beautiful Mind" and "House of Sand and Fog" earned Oscar nominations.

His attorney Jay Cooper told Reuters he had not heard from Horner since the crash, but could not confirm whether he was on board at the time. "He's an experienced pilot, but I know nothing else," Cooper said.

The Ventura County Fire Department said the plane crashed at 9:30 am and there were no survivors. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.