Noted film composer James Horner, reputed for his scoring music in movies like the Academy Award-winning 'Titanic,' 'Braveheart,' 'A Beautiful Mind,' 'Avatar,' and the first two installments of 'Star Trek,' died when an aircraft owned by him crashed in the Los Padres National Forest in southern California on Monday.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the two-time Oscar winner was 61 years of age.

Most news sites did not confirm Horner's death on Monday, but said that the pilot of the plane died in the crash. The Hollywood Reporter, however, quoted Sylvia Prtycja, identified as Horner's assistant, saying that the Academy Award winner was the single occupant in the aircraft.

Sylvia confirmed the death of Horner by writing on her Facebook page, "We have lost an amazing person with a huge heart and unbelievable talent [who] died doing what he loved."

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

A report in IB Times said, having composed music for more than 100 films, Horner received two Academy Awards, two Golden Globes, three Satellite Awards and three Saturn awards. Moreover, he was a great influence on many popular singers of this generation, including Josh Groban:

In all, Horner, a resident of Los Angeles, earned 10 Oscar nominations, and was recognized for his work on two other best picture winners - 'Braveheart' (1995) and 'A Beautiful Mind' (2001). In addition, he also received Oscar nominations for 'An American Tail' (1986), 'Field of Dreams' (1989), 'Apollo 13' (1995) and 'House of Sand and Fog' (2003).

The songs for which Horner received Grammy six times are listed below:

1988: "Somewhere Out There" (An American Tail) - Song of The Year

1988: "Somewhere Out There" (An American Tail) - Best Song Written specifically For a Motion Picture or Television

1991: "Glory" - Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television

1999: "My Heart Will Go On" (Titanic) - Record of The Year

1999: "My Heart Will Go On" (Titanic) - Song of The Year