The bodies of a pilot and passenger killed after their light plane crashed into the ocean have been recovered after an extensive retrieval operation by NSW Police.

The pair took off from a private airfield near Coffs Harbour, five hours north of Sydney, on Saturday morning.

Emergency services were alerted around 4pm when the microlight plane was seen crashing into the ocean about 1km east of Gumma, near Nambucca Heads.

Search and rescue crews recovered the body of a man from the wreckage on Saturday; a second body was recovered on Sunday morning.

Neither person has been formally identified.

Emergency services are now attempting to recover pieces of the plane from Scotts Head Beach to assist with an investigation into the incident.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Grant Rice told the ABC crews were in the Nambucca Valley assisting with the clean up.

“We’ve got our hazmat teams just picking up some debris that’s been washed up along the shoreline and some of it is fibrous material,” he said.

The investigation into the incident is being conducted by detectives attached to the Marine Area Command.

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