Horner death confirmed

VENTURA, CALIF. —A Southern California medical examiner’s office confirmed Thursday that Oscar-winning composer James Horner was the pilot killed in a plane crash this week, and the death has been ruled an accident.

The cause of Horner’s death was blunt force trauma from the crash, said Ventura County deputy medical examiner Zeb Dunn, who also confirmed Horner’s identity.

The 61-year-old Titanic and Avatar composer died June 22 when his plane crashed and burned in a remote area of the Los Padres National Forest, about 160 kilometres northwest of Los Angeles.

In addition to the two Oscars he won for Titanic, Horner was nominated for 10 Academy Awards in all.