A small plane belonging to Academy Award-winning composer James Horner crashed in central California on Monday, killing the pilot.
It is not known whether Horner, best known for scoring the movie “Titanic,” was the person flying the plane.
“He is an experienced pilot. He owns several planes. We have not heard from him,” his lawyer, Jay Cooper, told CNN.
The single-engine S312 Tucano crashed under unknown circumstances near Cuyama, about 60 miles north of Santa Barbara, on Monday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The pilot was the only occupant on board, the FAA said.
The name of the victim will have to come from local authorities, the FAA said. CNN has reached out to Ventura and Santa Barbara counties for information.
A person answering the phone at Horner’s house asked for privacy, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Horner won two Ocars for his work on the 1997 blockbuster”‘Titanic” — best original dramatic score and best original song for the Celine Dion classic, “My Heart Will Go On.”
He has been nominated for an Academy Award 10 times and has scored numerous blockbusters, including “Braveheart,” “Apollo 13,” “The Amazing Spider-Man” and “Avatar.”
“I am hoping with all my heard that James Horner was not in his plane this morning,” singer Josh Groban tweeted. “RIP to the pilot that died. Just awful.”
The debris field from the crash was scattered across a roughly one acre area in a dry riverbed, said Mike Eliason, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
The aircraft caught fire upon impact, and the flames spread to the surrounding vegetation, he said.
Firefighters who arrived on the scene were able to quickly put the fire out, but the occupant of the plane had died on impact, Eliason said.
