By Steve Evans
A pilot has died in a light plane crash in the Braidwood area, about 280 kilometres south-west of Sydney.
Police were called just after 11.30am with reports a plane had crashed at a property on Nerriga Road in Braidwood.
Fire and Rescue personnel near the wreckage of a light plane which crashed near Braidwood on Tuesday, killing the pilot.Credit: AAP
The body of the pilot, believed to be the sole occupant, was found in the wreckage.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the crash and three transport safety investigators from Canberra with experience in aircraft maintenance, operations and materials failure will be deployed to the site.
"The initial ATSB safety investigation will include examination of the accident site and the assessment of aircraft and pilot records, weather information and any available recorded data," a spokesperson from the safety bureau said.
A witness said the crash "just happened in a heartbeat".
Witness Alan Hannaford said the aircraft circled then went into a dive.Credit: AAP
Alan Hannaford, who has a stud on Nerriga Road, said the aircraft circled and then just went into a dive. It hit the ground nose first.
Mr Hannaford has a landing strip on his farm.
It is not clear if the pilot was trying to land there.
Mr Hannaford said the pilot, who is believed to be from Camden, had stayed overnight at Moruya and was heading back to Camden. A friend knew the dead man but was too upset to speak. The friend and the dead pilot had flown down the evening before in separate aircraft.
Three ambulances and a rescue helicopter were dispatched to the scene, although two of the crews and the helicopter were stood down when it was clear that nothing could be done for the pilot.
A Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) spokesman confirmed a single engine XL-2 Liberty aircraft, with the registration number VH-XLK, crashed 3.5 nautical miles north-east of Braidwood.
The aircraft was manufactured in America in 2008 and was first registered in Australia in February 2009.
The spokesman said the dead pilot was the only person aboard when the small two-seater crashed.
He said it was unknown where the plane had taken off from or what its destination had been, but it was registered to a company at Camden.
Sue Pollard of the Royal Mail Hotel in Braidwood said that just after noon, "every ambulance and fire engine just took off".