Oscar-winning composer James Horner has died in a plane crash near Santa Barbara, CA. He was 61 years old.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Sylvia Patrycja, identified on Horner's film music page as his assistant, was the first to confirm the musician's death.

"We have lost an amazing person with a huge heart and unbelievable talent," Patrycja wrote on Facebook on Monday. "He died doing what he loved. Thank you for all your support and love and see you down the road."

Horner was piloting the small aircraft when it crashed into a remote area about 60 miles north of Santa Barbara. An earlier report noted that the plane, which was registered to the composer, had gone down, but the pilot had not been identified.

Horner's greatest financial and critical success would come with the score to the 1997 film Titanic. The album became the best-selling primarily orchestral soundtrack in history, selling over 27 million copies worldwide.

Some of James Horner's more noteable scores include Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Cocoon, Commando, Aliens, Willow, Braveheart, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, Avatar and The Amazing Spider-Man.