Armidale family mourns loss of three children in Canberra plane crash

Peter Nally and the three primary school-aged children died when the five-seater Cirrus they were travelling in crashed, then caught alight, at the start of a homeward journey from Canberra to Armidale on Friday afternoon.

Local media reports said Mr Nally was a veteran pilot and his grandchildren, Raphael, Evita, and Philomena were aged 11, nine and six.

The children and their grandfather had spent the previous two days together visiting family in the ACT.

The children's parents, David and Elyse Smith, are from Tamworth and recently moved to Armidale. They have two younger children who were not involved in the crash.

The Smith family said on Sunday there were "no words" to describe their grief.

"There are no words to describe the grief our family is feeling at this time," they said in a statement shared by NSW Police.

"We are appreciative of the overwhelming support we continue to receive from our extended family and friends as well as the local community."

"As we are still coming to terms with our loss, we ask that the media respect our privacy while we grieve and process this tragedy."

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Mr Nally and the children boarded the light plane at Canberra airport about 2pm on Friday, October 6, with takeoff scheduled for 2:30pm.

Only minutes after takeoff, air traffic controllers lost communication with Mr Nally.

By 3pm, police had received reports of a "massive explosion" at a rural property near Lake George at Gundaroo, north of Queanbeyan.

Emergency services arrived at 3:13pm to find the aircraft completely destroyed and in flames.

Police have identified one witness so far, who said they saw the aircraft travelling "just above the tree line prior to spiralling and impacting heavily on the ground."

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating the cause of the crash.

Flight information shows the single-engine aircraft arrived in Canberra on Wednesday after travelling via Armidale from Redcliffe, north of Brisbane.

It's understood the plane vanished from radar screens 16 minutes after taking off on Friday.

ATSB crews will monitor for spilled chemicals, burnt carbon fibre and possible explosive materials.

"This will be a difficult undertaking given how burnt the wreckage is," the bureau's Colin McNamara said.

"But over the coming days, I am fully confident that the investigators will gather as much information and evidence as they can from the accident site."

Mr Nally was a longstanding member of the Redcliffe Aero Club, which offered its "deepest condolences to the family of the pilot and passengers who were tragically killed".

"The pilot was active in the social side of the club with many hours of flying experience. The aircraft was privately owned and not operated by the club," the organisation said in a statement.

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