A light plane crashed at Shellharbour Airport in Australia's New South Wales state's Lake Illawarra area on Saturday morning, killing three people on board.

The plane went down at Shellharbour Airport, about 85 km (53 miles) south of the state capital Sydney, shortly after taking off around 10 a.m. (2300 GMT Friday), police said.

Officers from Lake Illawarra Police District were informed that a Piper Cherokee Lance light aircraft crashed shortly after take-off.

Chief Inspector Aaron Wunderlich said the private plane was intending to fly to Bathurst in the state's central west.

"The plane has taken off from the tarmac and has gotten about 30 metres into the air," Inspector Wunderlich said.

"At that point, witnesses described the aircraft has then dipped with its left wing coming down and contacting the tarmac."

The plane caught on fire after hitting the ground, killing all three people on board.

Police confirmed the owner of the plane was onboard at the time of the crash.

Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Inspector Andrew Barber said a local Rural Fire Service unit was at the airport doing training at the time of the crash.

Around 10-15 RFS volunteers responded to the crash, along with people involved with the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society Museum, which is located at the airport.

"They were on the scene within minutes," Inspector Barber said.

"However, due to the nature of the combustion of fuel, the occupants had no chance of being saved."

Speaking to the media on Saturday, Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said the crash had happened within seconds of the airplane taking off.

"There was a very short time period between the actual taxiing and take-off and when the accident occurred," he said.

"It is fair to assume something has gone wrong very quickly as that aircraft has just left the ground."

ATSB investigators from Canberra and Melbourne had been deployed and were expected to reach the site on Saturday afternoon.

Mr Mitchell said it was too early to know the cause of the crash, but that the ATSB would examine all data, including the plane's maintenance logs and the weather conditions.

"It will take us quite some time to get a better picture of what went wrong," he said.