A man and three children are believed to be dead following a light plane crash near Queanbeyan in south-eastern NSW.

Police, fire crews and paramedics rushed to a paddock on Hadlow Drive at Gundaroo on the western edge of Lake George and 35km north of Queanbeyan just before 3pm on Friday after reports the aircraft had crashed and caught alight.

RFS officers extinguished the blaze but the five-seater Cirrus was destroyed.

Superintendent Cath Bradbury initially said from the scene investigators were still to confirm how many people were on board but “unfortunately, there are no survivors”.

However, a statement by police later confirmed the aircraft “took off from Canberra Airport about 2.30pm and was travelling to Armidale with four people – a man and three children – believed to be on board at the time”.

They are yet to be formally identified.

With a crime scene being forensically examined, police are working with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau officers to determine the circumstances surrounding the crash.

It’s understood the plane vanished from radar screens 16 minutes after take off.

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

It was registered to a company owned and operated by an experienced amateur pilot based in Brisbane.

A report will be prepared for the coroner.