Two pilots from Darwin based airline Air North have been killed in a plane crash at Darwin Airport.
The men were on a routine training flight when their Embraer 120 came down in thick trees not far from the main runway.
Emergency Services have been unable to retrieve the bodies from the 30-seat aircraft, fearing an explosion.
Witness, Louis Candida was working nearby at a local golf course when the crash happened at 10am (ACST).
"We just heard the aircraft approaching, then all of a sudden a huge bang and we saw a thick plume of black smoke", he said.
Assistant Police Commissioner Mark Payne says the plane crashed soon after takeoff, when it banked sharply and hit the bitumen before ending up in trees.
Police are yet to release the names of the victims saying they're still in the process of notifying next of kin.
They're also refusing to speculate on the cause of the crash.
Air North is the Northern Territory's premier local airline, operating 156 scheduled departures weekly.
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