Albury man Hayden Bruce, 31, and Corryong teenager Tom Sheather, 18, died on Tuesday night when their Cessna 172 crashed near Canberra.

The pair were undertaking work for Essential Energy after taking off from Canberra Airport.

Mr Bruce and Mr Sheather, who are well known in the Border aviation community, worked for Oberon Aviation Services.

The business, based in the Albury Airport precinct, yesterday released a statement.

"This is a very difficult time for us - we're a small aviation business company, and family, and have lost two of our members," directors Stirling and Cheryl Preston said.

"Our focus right now is to provide support for the families of our crew members, and our staff, as we all grieve this loss. We can't speculate on what might have caused this tragic accident while formal investigations are under way.

"However, our families and staff can be assured that we will leave no stone unturned in finding the cause of this accident.

"Our staff and their families remain the focus of our thoughts and care."

The plane had crashed into a paddock about 4.30pm after taking off about 1.30pm.

The exact cause of the crash was unclear.

Superintendent Paul Condon said the site of the crash has been turned over to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is investigating the incident.

"We have forensic services that attended the scene last night and they were back out there [yesterday] during daylight for a short time," Superintendent Condon told the media.

The plane was seen by witnesses on the ground a short time before the crash.

An Essential Energy spokeswoman said the incident was a tragedy and the company was working with investigators.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"We can confirm that the plane was performing contracted aerial inspections of the Essential Energy electricity network prior to the incident," the spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

"Essential Energy's thoughts remain with the families, friends and colleagues of the two people who died.

"Authorities are currently investigating the incident and Essential Energy is providing full support.

"It would not be appropriate for us to provide any further information while the police investigation is underway."

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is expected to have staff on the ground for several days and will release a preliminary report into the crash within weeks.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: