Updated May 31, 2017 00:05:10

Three people are confirmed dead after a Cessna aircraft crashed near Renmark in South Australia's Riverland.

The pilot and two passengers were on board the 10-seater Cessna Conquest, which left Adelaide about 4:00pm on Tuesday.

Authorities said an emergency beacon was activated about 4:30pm, and a search started within a short time after.

SA Police said Riverland local patrols located wreckage after nightfall in scrubland about four kilometres west of Renmark Airport.

Charter operator Rossair said the aircraft was on a training flight from Adelaide to the Riverland.

"The loss of company personnel was profound for the families concerned and all company employees," it said in a statement.

It said family members were being contacted.

Major Crash investigators from Adelaide are heading to the crash scene to help an Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) team, which is expected to arrive there on Wednesday morning.

ATSB duty officer Neville Blythe said any witnesses to the tragedy would be encouraged to contact them.

"There will be a team of three or four investigators, they will proceed to the site to examine the wreckage and the associated area. They will also be looking for any witnesses to the event," he said

"We will be looking at maintenance records for the aircraft and all those types of things."

Rossair said it would work closely with authorities to determine what went wrong.

Renmark is just over 200 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, close to the border with Victoria.

Topics: emergency-incidents, disasters-and-accidents, renmark-5341, sa

First posted May 30, 2017 19:58:47