A pilot is feared dead as search and rescue crews scour a national park in southern NSW after a light plane crashed yesterday.

A man in his 60s took off from Bankstown Airport about 11am yesterday and flew to Mallacoota in Victoria.

He was on his way back to Bankstown when he disappeared yesterday afternoon.

The aircraft was from Bankstown Flying School and had no other passengers on board. 

An aircraft emergency location transmitter was activated in Budawang National Park, about 25km north of Batemans Bay, about 4.30pm that same day.

The crash site was located, but emergency services were not able to access the area due to the rough terrain and foggy weather conditions.

Emergency crews are at the scene today trying to reach the wreckage and locate the pilot.

NSW Police Chief Inspector David Cockram said the pilot is thought to have died on impact.

“The inquiries we’ve made with air traffic controllers and air safety last night, they’re of the view it was unlikely the fellow would survive the impact,” he told reporters.

Cockram said it was not often that an aircraft crashes into land, particularly in the Budawang National Park.

“I can’t recall that happening in the last 10 or so years. So, not something we respond to all the time,” he said.

Investigations will determine what caused the crash.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is also investigating and has deployed a team of transport safety investigators from Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane to the area.

It will examine the site and pieces of wreckage and will release a preliminary report in about two months.