Hollywood heavyweights Ron Howard and Russel Crowe have led tributes to Oscar-winning Titanic composer James Horner, who died in a plane crash aged 61.

According to reports, Horner was killed when his two-seater single-engine plane crashed north of Santa Barbara in southern California.

Howard wrote on Twitter: “Brilliant Composer James Horner, friend & collaborator on 7 movies has tragically died in a plane crash. My heart aches for his loved ones.”

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Horner’s personal assistant, Sylvia Patrycja, confirmed the news on her Facebook page: “We have lost an amazing person with a huge heart, and unbelievable talent. He died doing what he loved. Thank you for all your support and love and see you down the road.”

A Ventura County fire spokesman said a plane registered to Horner had crashed and that the pilot had died. No one else was on board.

Horner won two Oscars for his work on Titanic writing the winning score and co-writing the song My Heart Will Go On. He was also nominated for an Academy Award six times for blockbuster movies including Apollo 13, Braveheart and Field of Dreams.

Horner’s most recent Oscar nomination was for 2009’s sci-fi epic Avatar, directed by James Cameron.

He won one Golden Globe and was nominated seven times.

Horner also worked on Braveheart and A Beautiful Mind with Australian actor Crowe who paid tribute to him: “My sincere condolences to the family, loved ones and friends of James Horner. #abeautifulmind”.

My sincere condolences to the family, loved ones and friends of James Horner. #abeautifulmind

— Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) June 23, 2015

Rob Lowe tweeted: “There is nothing that shaped my movie-going experience more than the musical genius of James Horner. He will live on through the ages.”

American composer Steve Jablonsky, best known for his music in the Transformers movie series, said: “James Horner, thank you for inspiring a young me to pursue a career in film music. Thank you for your music. Rest in peace.”

“Last time I spoke to JH he was scoring for a kid at AFI. 2 Oscars and he agreed to score a student film! What generosity. #RIPJamesHorner,” tweeted The Amazing Spider-Man director Marc Webb.

You can listen to a mix of his best music below.