A 71-year-old man has died when his light plane crashed in northern NSW in heavy fog.
Douglas Braund was flying his four-seater Cessna 172 when he crashed into trees near Ballina just before 9am on Friday.
The plane came to a stop about 50 metres into the bush.
Mr Braund, who was the sole occupant, had taken off from Heck Field Flying Club in Jacobs Well, Queensland, and was travelling to Ballina Airport.
The crash happened off Rishworths Lane at Brooklet about 20 kilometres northwest of Ballina.
"There was heavy fog at the time and debris was scattered over a large area," police said in a statement.
Local residents heard a loud noise before they found the aircraft in bushland.
Binna Burra resident Bija Nicolson was driving to work on the Pacific Highway near Bangalow when she saw a small plane overhead at about 8.40am.
"They were kind of low and they weren't going in a direct course," she told AAP.
Ms Nicolson said there was low cloud, drizzly rain and fog at the time.
"I remember watching it thinking that they were avoiding the cloud," she said.
"I watched the plane and it kept going, then it got covered by a cloud and I couldn't see it anymore."
Nathan Cooper heard the crash from his garden.
"I heard a small plane engine go into very high revs," he told the ABC.
"It sounded like it was making a quick descent, then it suddenly stopped like it had hit the ground."
Tracey Knowland, a manager of Bangalow Wholesale Nursery, said the aircraft crashed in the rear of her property.
"On behalf of ourselves, our staff and our family our condolences and thoughts go out to the man, his family and friends," she in a Facebook post.
Mr Braund was a committee member at the Straddie Aero Club in Queensland, which paid tribute to him as "a lovely person".
A team of four Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators has been deployed to the accident site.
"While on site the team will be examining the site and wreckage, gathering any recorded data, and interviewing any witnesses," the bureau said in a statement.
A preliminary report will be compiled within 30 days.
Ballina detectives and the aviation branch would also take part in a joint investigation.
"At this stage the only route we have is that he was heading from Heck Field down to Ballina," Police Inspector Nicole Bruce told reporters at the scene.
"I'm not sure where this is in relation to that route and why he would have been over this site."
