Northern Territory Police have identified the victims of a light aircraft crash as a 22-year-old man, the pilot, and a 43-year-old woman, as dense bushland complicates efforts to investigate the debris field.
The Cessna 210 plane set out at 8:30am on Christmas Eve from Nhulunbuy, in the north east tip of the Northern Territory, on a flight to Katherine but never arrived.
Search-and-rescue crews located the wreckage on Sunday, near the remote community of Bulman, 250 kilometres north-east of Katherine.
NT police are at the scene of the crash.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has launched an investigation, and said it was flying teams from Canberra and Brisbane to the site.
"The initial ATSB safety investigation will include an examination of the wreckage, assessment of aircraft and pilot records, forecast and actual weather information, and any available recorded data," ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said in a statement this morning.
He said the debris was "scattered over a large distance" and NT Police were working to figure out the best way to access the crash site.
A preliminary report by the ATSB will be released in six to eight weeks' time.
