The light plane crashed on the Hadlow Drive property, about 30km north-east of Canberra, just before 3pm Friday.

NSW Police said late on Friday evening four people were believed to have died in the plane crash.

"Officers from Monaro Police District established a crime scene, which is being forensically examined," NSW Police said in a statement.

"Police are working in conjunction with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash."

Initial investigations have indicated four people were on board the flight, which left from Canberra Airport around 2.30pm. It was travelling to Armidale.

The plane caught fire after it crashed on a property, located off Shingle Hill Way owned by Sydney man Greg Reid.

The acting commander for the Monaro police district, Superintendent Catherine Bradbury, said it was a "catastrophic collision" by a small aircraft.

"Police are working with the ATSB to investigate the circumstances and determine how many were on board. It is understood that more than one person was on the aircraft," she said.

Superintendent Bradbury said there were not a lot of avenues to determine what caused the crash.

"Police will be working here through the night with the ATSB. We know it was a heavy impact. Police will be canvassing the area to determine if there is any other debris in the location," she said.

Rural Fire Service units from Gundaroo and Back Creek attended the small grass fire, which spread out in a radius of about 30 metres from the crash site.

Investigators were on scene with a drone in the air in the afternoon, while the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said its investigators from the Canberra office were expected to arrive on the scene on Friday evening to conduct an initial assessment.

The plane is believed to be small single engine, five-seater Cirrus SR22, on a flightpath from Canberra Airport to Armidale.

Publicly available flight information showed the aircraft took off from Canberra Airport at 2.24pm Friday.

The plane first headed south before turning over Queanbeyan and heading north-east towards Lake George, before crashing.

The plane was in the air for 16 minutes and crashed at 2.49pm, the public flight tracking data showed.

The plane is registered to Up N Up Aviation Pty Ltd, which is based in North Lakes, Queensland.

The company is registered to Michael Cahill. It is not known whether Mr Cahill was on the plane at the time of the crash.

Lisa Kirkup was at home around 3pm when she heard a loud bang.

"At first I thought it was someone shooting close by, but the dogs were barking madly and the horses were running around the paddock, so I thought I should go out and check," Ms Kirkup said.

"I walked out to the front of the place and checked the animals but I couldn't see anything from where I was, so I went back inside.

"It's only when I got a phone call from a neighbour telling me that something had happened close by our property that I then went back outside again and saw what had happened."

The SR22 is manufactured in the United States, with more than 7200 aircraft built between 2001 and 2022.

The single-engine aircraft has a capacity of four passengers and can cruise at 339kmh, and has been the best-selling general aviation aeroplane worldwide since 2003.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said the bureau had launched an investigation into the fatal crash.

"Transport safety investigators from the ATSB's Canberra office were expected to arrive at the scene on Friday evening to conduct an initial assessment of the accident site," Mr Mitchell said.

"Over coming days, investigators with experience in aircraft operations and maintenance will conduct a range of evidence-gathering activities on site including site mapping, wreckage examination, and recovery of aircraft components for further examination at the ATSB's technical facilities in Canberra."

Mr Mitchell called on anyone who had witnessed the accident or had video footage of the aircraft in any phase of its flight to make contact with the bureau.

"The ATSB anticipates publishing a preliminary report, which will detail factual information established during the investigation's initial evidence collection phase, in approximately six to eight weeks," he said.

"The ATSB will publish a final report, detailing contributing factors and any identified safety issues, at the conclusion of the investigation."

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is also investigating a fatal crash involving a Cirrus SR22 in March.

A pilot died in hospital following injuries sustained in the crash at Bankstown Airport, which occurred after the pilot lost control of the plane following an attempted landing.

Anyone with information about the crash has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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