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James Horner 1953-2015


Not Mr. Big

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It seems like he was just riding out the inevitable, trying to keep it level as he lost altitude. I guess pilots don't prepare for events such as these with parachutes, etc?

Actually, it sounds more to me like something catastrophic happened just a minute (or even only a few seconds) before the crash. He was steady at about 500 agl at each sighting, including a few moments before impact. The engine sounded normal. There were no erratic actions. I doubt there was much warning before everything went wrong.

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It seems like he was just riding out the inevitable, trying to keep it level as he lost altitude. I guess pilots don't prepare for events such as these with parachutes, etc?

Actually, it sounds more to me like something catastrophic happened just a minute (or even only a few seconds) before the crash. He was steady at about 500 agl at each sighting, including a few moments before impact. The engine sounded normal. There were no erratic actions. I doubt there was much warning before everything went wrong.

I don't know a thing about flying, but isn't 500 agl extremely low?

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For a small private plane in the wilderness? I also don't know a thing about flying, but for me that sounds reasonable.

http://www.risingup.com/fars/info/part91-119-FAR.shtml

© Over other than congested areas. An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.

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Yeah. People often fly single-engine aircraft at low altitudes in low-population areas.

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My thoughts on reading this is the radar is just indicating he was practicing acrobatics. But too low. Yes, under 1,000 is very low. You need 500 feet minimum of clearance from obstacles (such as radio towers, buildings, etc.) and in a high performance plane such as this (it tops out around 350 mph) that feels low. From this preliminary report, I presume their was nothing wrong with the plane. If the plane crashed and burned during an attempt to land it (so the pilot was making a recovery attempt) the crash would have looked different and eyewitnesses would have said it appeared as if the pilot was struggling/wrestling it to the ground. The debris field is all contained within a rather small footprint with a crater indicating the plane impacted at a high speed and sharp angle. If it broke up in the air (or suffered an airframe failure) the debris would have been spread out more. What is a possibility is he was either incapacitated or unconscious at the time of the crash. For example, the 2011 Reno crash where the P-51 mustang crashed into the crowd with a similar impact pattern but much more kinetic energy (that plane was modified to fly 500 mph and it might have exceeded that speed just before the crash). That pilot was almost certainly unconscious having just flown a 17-G pull up. The time of consciousness in 17 G's is 1 second so on that crash and with lots of forensic and photographic/video evidence they concluded the cause of the crash was the 71 year old pilot became unconscious for those brief seconds immediately before that crash. (A contributing factor, though not the cause of that crash was the extensive racing modifications of the airplane that resulted in the trim tab falling off during the turn). I think what we'll eventually find is the plane either performed a maneuver too low to the ground and impacted at a high speed/sharp angle or the pilot was unconscious (pulled up too fast and suffered a blackout for example) but at 500 to 750 feet agl, that leaves no recovery time. It could take a year or two for the investigation to be completed.

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Agreed - flying and especially modified high performance acrobatic flying is very dangerous with extremely little margin for error.

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My thoughts on reading this is the radar is just indicating he was practicing acrobatics. But too low. Yes, under 1,000 is very low. You need 500 feet minimum of clearance from obstacles (such as radio towers, buildings, etc.) and in a high performance plane such as this (it tops out around 350 mph) that feels low. From this preliminary report, I presume their was nothing wrong with the plane. If the plane crashed and burned during an attempt to land it (so the pilot was making a recovery attempt) the crash would have looked different and eyewitnesses would have said it appeared as if the pilot was struggling/wrestling it to the ground. The debris field is all contained within a rather small footprint with a crater indicating the plane impacted at a high speed and sharp angle. If it broke up in the air (or suffered an airframe failure) the debris would have been spread out more. What is a possibility is he was either incapacitated or unconscious at the time of the crash. For example, the 2011 Reno crash where the P-51 mustang crashed into the crowd with a similar impact pattern but much more kinetic energy (that plane was modified to fly 500 mph and it might have exceeded that speed just before the crash). That pilot was almost certainly unconscious having just flown a 17-G pull up. The time of consciousness in 17 G's is 1 second so on that crash and with lots of forensic and photographic/video evidence they concluded the cause of the crash was the 71 year old pilot became unconscious for those brief seconds immediately before that crash. (A contributing factor, though not the cause of that crash was the extensive racing modifications of the airplane that resulted in the trim tab falling off during the turn). I think what we'll eventually find is the plane either performed a maneuver too low to the ground and impacted at a high speed/sharp angle or the pilot was unconscious (pulled up too fast and suffered a blackout for example) but at 500 to 750 feet agl, that leaves no recovery time. It could take a year or two for the investigation to be completed.

Thanks for your take on it. That does seem plausible. And frankly less awful than some alternatives.

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It never actually occurred to me until I read karelm's post that he may have been unconscious. All eye-witness accounts leading up to just the final couple of minutes seem to indicate that the plan was running smoothly. Then just....gone.

At least it seemed to be over quick.

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Agreed - flying and especially modified high performance acrobatic flying is very dangerous with extremely little margin for error.

You have to think that, given his relationship with the Flying Horsemen, that he loved not just flying but the idea of those daredevil acrobatics. I'm sure they showed him the how-tos on some of their tricks, and it isn't hard to believe he was prone to a little experimentation in his spare time. But he wasn't a full-time stunt pilot, and he probably wasn't as capable as he might have thought he was. Terrible to have it end like this, but as everyone's been saying, he was doing what he loved. I won't be the one to blame him for that.

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Horner really captured the free spirit of flight especially well in his music. The passion ran very deep and it touched something in him he believed in. I'm glad no one else was injured but I have a feeling this was just a second or two between everything is fine and possible unconscious crash. That is not very uncommon for those on the edge. I agree that taming the wild is part of the pull it has on some people. It isn't very different from those who climb Everest and have to pass dead bodies from decades ago along the way. Attempting to conquer something so formidable is part of the allure.

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I love his Flying Horsemen music. I like that he merged his two biggest passions together.

I like it very much myself. But it's hard for me to listen to this particular stuff at the moment.

Karol

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I love his Flying Horsemen music. I like that he merged his two biggest passions together.

He wrote his soul for his passion, but that passion cost him his soul.

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Horner really captured the free spirit of flight especially well in his music. The passion ran very deep and it touched something in him he believed in.

I've been noticing that as I listen to his stuff. Anything piece connecting with flight tends to rise above its companion pieces in a score. "Flying" from The Man Without a Face, "Flight of the Griffin" from The Spiderwick Chronicles, all the material from The Rocketeer and Apollo 13—even the change in mood that takes place in Krull between the moment the fire mares are galloping on the ground and the moment they take flight . . . the subject just seemed to bring the greatest inspiration out of him.

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  • 1 month later...

Its been two months since James Horners tragic passing. Its taken me some time to get my thoughts together about the overwhelming loss to fans and the film industry of this truly talented composer. Since his passing ive resorted to buying the rest of his scores that i dont have on CD its difficult but im getting there. Those ones that i have ordered and recieved may be lesser scores, all the same, his talent shines through with majestic uplifting themes and scores to savour and to enjoy and i have to say we can weep to as a result of his passing.

I first came to love John Williams' music when i saw the film The Poseidon Adventure-from then on I was hooked and ive stayed with JW ever since, meeting him twice in my life

James Horner punched me fairly and squarely in the mouth on July 25th 1982 when i ventured 60 miles from where i live in Wiltshire, England to Bournemouth to watch Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Khan at the ABC Cinema Bournemouth in 70mm Dolby 6 Track Magnetic Stereo on the biggest screen in the west of england

When those opening credits came up and Horners magnificent music pounded out of those speakers , I was absolutely gobsmacked-a changed man. Yes we had John Barry and Jerry Goldsmith and the premiere composer of the day, John Wililams but who on earth was James Horner. As soon as i got home i made plans, the following day i was in my local record shop asking who this guy was.

I was gobsmacked that a guy in his mid twenties had composed a magnificent score to accompany this impressive film

Mustnt forget there was no internet, no social media-one had to rely on snippets of information in the film magazine of the day Photoplay film monthly-

Humanoids of the Deep on vinyl became my first aquisition (Star Trek 2 didnt become available for another month)then Battle Beyond The Stars, Krull-I started to get Horner into my soul

And its stayed that way ever since.

In 1989, i changed career and went into cinema management and became a film buyer watching the latest films before release.

It gave me the opportunity of watching for 20 plus years the films and listening to the soundtracks from Williams and Horner and others including the newbies like Hans Zimmer etc before anybody else

I always thought that despite the differences in style , Horner would take over from Williams.

Sadly 2 months ago it was not to be.

I mourn the loss of this man-i have grown up with his music.

I dont care about some repitition in his films but what i do remember is the emotional impact.

I remember the gorgeous themes of An AmericanTail, the haunting Casper, Ripley and Newt waiting for the drop ship in Aliens, the rocket takeoff in Apollo 13, the soaring Rockiteer (expanded release please), A Beautiful Mind and BiCentennial Man, the brilliant scores for Braveheart and Glory, Jumanji , Perfect storm , the amazing Spiderman and who cannot forget Titanic and Avatar

The list goes on -so much to remember-scores of great emotion and power

God am i going to miss this composer

He loved flying and thats how he died.

But one thing is for sure -he left this world a wonderful legacy of superb film music you can listen to and never tire of

And for that impact on my life , I thank you James-RIP

Here is a you tube link you may have seen since his death-if you havent then enjoy the man and his music -i consider it to be a great epitaph for him

It is his composition for the Horsemen aerial acrobatic team

It soars-Enjoy it like I have-its a gem

https://youtu.be/GQINoi5LbBs


If the above link does not work just go onto You tube and in the search engine type

Behind the Scenes James Horner scores The Horsemen- its 7mins 40 secs long

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Here here ! Very well said... Essentially my thoughts as well, except Aliens was the game-changer for me.

I only saw this now... What a cute tribute ! :)

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In my haste to write my personal obit to James, I stupidly left out from my script the unforgettable swing era soundtracks to Cocoon (and the Return) and Batteries Not Included-I hope this corrects that

Finally, does anybody across the water in the US know if there was a funeral or memorial service for James and what the date was?

Are there any recordings of it and what the order of service was and what if anything was played?.

I cant find anything on the net about it

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He had a private memorial. I understand his family was taking the tragic and sudden death in stride considering the tragic and sudden circumstances. It is a great and tragic loss that many are still stunned by.

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Thanks for that Karelm

I sincerely hope the moderators of JWFAN, in some shape or form whether directly or indirectly through friends, advise the family about this blog to show how much he was loved by fans especially those in John Williams community

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  • 10 months later...

It's been a year.  I am listening to James Horner scores exclusively at work today.  Anyone else want to join me?

 

 

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Near far where ever you are

I believe that the heart does go on.

 

Miss you James.

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Battle Beyond The Stars

 

Fun little gem.  Kind of like a mini, low budget version of his big operatic space action scores to come.

 

 

Aliens

 

Stupendously amazing as always!

 

 

Humanoids from the Deep

 

Harmless enough, didn't make much of an impact on me (only heard a few times before)

 

 

Brainstorm

 

Wow, such power here.  I can't believe it took me 30 years to ever hear this score.... must listen more often!

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Indeed, a 2 disc set with the complete film recordings on one disc and the LSO album recording on the other.  Like The Fury.

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1 minute ago, crocodile said:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Special Score Story- On recording <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheForceAwakens?src=hash">#TheForceAwakens</a> Score with John Williams on the day James Horner passed. ? <a href="https://t.co/pmEtQM8245">pic.twitter.com/pmEtQM8245</a></p>&mdash; Varèse Sarabande (@VareseSarabande) <a href="https://twitter.com/VareseSarabande/status/745662305069735936">June 22, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

Karol

 

What is that?

13 minutes ago, crocodile said:

We need a complete release of that. And film tracks!

 

Karol

 

You already have a complete release of that recording.

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I never knew that James sat in on the scoring sessions when Jerry recorded STTMP. 

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It's hard to believe it has been a year all ready.  I think I'll listen to my favorite Star Trek score tonight as a tribute to him....Star Trek II The Wrath Of Khan.

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10 hours ago, Jay said:

It's been a year.  I am listening to James Horner scores exclusively at work today.  Anyone else want to join me?

 

 

 

All of that in one day?  That is a massive list!

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I meant to say the rest of the week!

 

Even then I won't get through all that, probably. Got a bit carried away.

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There was another interview where Horner forgot Jerry's name and said he didn't like the score for ST:TMP.

 

Horner seemed to really oversimplify his music in that interview. His vocal rendition is hilarious.

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Can't believe it's been a year already. 

 

Will definitely stick on Braveheart later. 

 

Might ht have a look at that Spotify playlist, Jay. 

 

I'm a big fan of what Horner scores I've heard but I haven't delved very deep into the canon. 

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