Titanic composer missing after plane crash
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A plane registered to composer James Horner has crashed near Santa Barbara, California. Picture: Getty
Source: Getty Images
JAMES Horner, the Oscar Award-winning movie score composer behind films including Titanic, Braveheart and Avatar, is dead after a small plane crash.
Fire officials found the burning wreckage about west of Highway 33 in Santa Barbara in California today sometime after 9.30am.
Within the one-acre burn zone they discovered the tail section of the two seater turboprop plane, which was registered in Horner’s name.
Police sources told TMZ Horner’s plane was a two-seater S312 Tucano MK1 — a single-engine turboprop.
The plane was immediately destroyed on impact and the pilot was alone in the aircraft when it crashed.
His death was confirmed by Sylvia Patrycja, who is identified on Horner’s film music page as his assistant.
Jay Cooper, a lawyer for Horner, said the plane was one of several owned by him. He says no one had heard from Horner and that “if he wasn’t in it, he would have called”.
“We know it’s his plane, and we know we haven’t heard from him,” Cooper told The Hollywood Reporter.
“He owned five aircrafts,” Cooper continued. “He loved flying. That’s all I can say.”
It is understood that Horner, 61, is a recreational pilot just like Harrison Ford, who recently survived a plane crash after takeoff from Santa Monica airport, west of Los Angeles this year.
Horner was also the compioser of music scores for films including Cocoon, Star Trak II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Field of Dreams, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, Legends of the Fall, A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Jumanji, The Amazing Spider-Man, and many more.
He was working on the soundtracks to Avatar 2 and Avatar 3 before his tragic death.
