Man in critical condition after light plane crashes on NSW mid-north coast

A man is in a critical condition in hospital after a light plane carrying two passengers crashed on the NSW mid-north coast.

Emergency services were called to Port Macquarie Airport after a Diamond DA40 plane activated a distress beacon just after 8.30pm yesterday.

The plane, understood to have been taking part in a training exercise, took off from the airport before crashing into nearby bushland about 100m south west of the end of the runway.

The distress beacon sparked a massive search, with police and NSW SES scouring swampland around the airport before a rescue chopper spotted the wreckage.

The female pilot, 25, who was found outside the plane suffering fractures to her upper arm, pelvis and shoulder, was taken to Port Macquarie Hospital in a stable condition.

A 25-year-old male passenger was winched from inside wreckage and airlifted to John Hunter Hospital suffering critical injuries to his head and leg.

The incident is being investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.