Bump and smoke precedes plane crash: ATSB

There was a bump and then the cabin started to fill with smoke.

It's not the ideal turn of events shortly after take-off in a small aircraft, but that's how a woman recalls the start of her dramatic flight in a remote part of the Northern Territory that ended in a fireball.

Carrying only a pilot, the woman and cargo, the Cessna aircraft had climbed to 4500 feet after leaving Numbulwar, east of Darwin, when smoke started coming from the floor.

The pilot made a mayday call, advising of engine failure.

He noted "there were no roads in sight on which to conduct a forced landing, only trees", the Australian Transport Safety Bureau reported on Tuesday.

The passenger passed a fire extinguisher to the pilot and the smoke quickly stopped, but the aircraft started to drop with still no obvious place to land.

The pilot activated an emergency locator beacon and told the passenger to brace for landing.

"The aircraft landed heavily, skidded, and collided with two trees prior to coming to rest at an angle," the ATSB said.

Seeing that the right wing of the aircraft was on fire, the pair scrambled to get out of the wreckage.

"The passenger and the pilot moved about 10m from the aircraft, prior to multiple explosions occurring."

Both suffered serious injuries and were rescued about three hours later by helicopter.

As a result of the crash the pilot has a limited recollection of events.

The ATSB found that although the aircraft was adequately serviced, a broken component resulted in a hole in the crankcase on the day of the March 28 crash.

"This precipitated a catastrophic engine failure."