Audio reveals terrifying moment elderly passenger attempts to take over a light plane in NSW

The desperate moment a young pilot wrestled with an elderly man in the cockpit of a light plane over central NSW yesterday has been revealed.

The 23-year-old pilot was praised for showing "fantastic skill" by the owner of the company he works for as an audio recording captured the mid-air scuffle with the 82-year-old passenger.

In the recording he can be heard saying: "My passenger is trying to take over," as air traffic control asks for more information. He can also be heard saying: "Woah, woah."

Police are investigating after the pilot was forced to land the plane in a paddock near Oberon at 3pm yesterday.

The passenger, who was sitting next to the pilot, tried to take control of the aircraft, Basair Aviation College's managing director David Trevelyan said this morning.

He reportedly flicked a lever to shut down the engines of the four-seater aircraft and seized the controls during the charter flight.

The pilot wrestled with the man in the cockpit and restrained him, then sent out a distress call before making the emergency landing.

The pilot was able to regain control of the aircraft, issue an emergency "Pan-Pan" announcement and then land safely, the spokesman said.

A pan call is when the pilot is in trouble but not in a life-threatening situation.

"I would like to praise the actions of the pilot. He showed fantastic skill," Mr Trevelyan said.

"He did an excellent job in an amazingly difficult scenario ... and under tremendous pressure."

The elderly man had booked the flight with Australia By Air from Sydney to Cowra, with the plane departing Bankstown Airport about 2pm yesterday.

He told the charter company he needed to go and sign some documents, the ABC reported.

It was the first time Australia By Air had conducted a flight for the elderly man.

"We know nothing about him," Mr Trevelyan said.

The pilot's efforts left the elderly man with head and facial injuries.

The elderly man was taken to Sydney's Westmead Hospital while the pilot was taken to Oberon Hospital suffering from shock and was released last night.

Police from Bathurst will travel to Sydney today to get the elderly man's version of events.

Additional reporting by AAP