Three Australians die in PNG crash

AUSTRALIAN government officials are on their way to a remote plane crash site in Papua New Guinea where three Australians and a New Zealander died.

Australian officials from the High Commission in Port Moresby flew early on Wednesday morning to Misima, in PNG's Milne Bay Province, where a chartered Trans Air plane slid off a wet runway and burst into flames on Tuesday afternoon.

New Zealand High Commissioner Marion Crawshaw is also part of the group.

The plane's New Zealand co-pilot is the only survivor and is in a local hospital.

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith confirmed three Australians and a New Zealander died while one New Zealander survived Tuesday afternoon's fatal flight to Milne Bay, on PNG's southeast tip.

"Australian officials will travel to Misima Island at the earliest opportunity on Wednesday to provide assistance on the ground," Mr Smith said in a statement on Tuesday night.

The surviving New Zealander, an Australian permanent resident, received heavy bruising but was conscious and able to talk, he said.

A government official in Port Moresby told AAP they want to get the survivor to a major centre as soon as possible.

One of the fatalities was 61-year-old marine pilot Chris Hart, of Sydney, who was a passenger on board the jet, Brisbane-based Australian Reef Pilots confirmed.

He was on his way to guide a ship from Misima, about 500km southeast of Port Moresby, through the Great Barrier Reef.

Trans Air, which runs a charter and medivac service in PNG, is linked to the now defunct Australian airline Transair, which went into liquidation after a 2005 crash at Lockhart River in north Queensland in which 15 people died.

In August last year 13 people were killed in a PNG plane crash, including nine Australian Kokoda Track trekkers.

PNG's rugged landscape and unpredictable weather makes for incredibly tough flying conditions but a lack of institutional support for aviation safety has also plagued the industry.