The Titanic composer, 61, perished when the small aircraft he was piloting crashed in a remote area of the Los Padres National Forest, about 60 miles (97 kilometres) north of Santa Barbara, on Monday (22Jun15).

On Thursday (25Jun15), a Ventura County Deputy Medical Examiner confirmed Horner's identity and ruled his cause of death was blunt force trauma.

Horner was an accomplished film composer and won two Academy Awards for his work on Titanic.