King Island 'shaken' by fatal plane crash

Residents of the remote King Island, accessible only by air, have been left shaken by the fatal crash in Melbourne of a charter plane that had been heading their way.

Four US tourists were headed to the rugged island for its much-vaunted golf courses when their plane smashed into a retail outlet, killing them and their pilot.

King Island Mayor Duncan McFie said the tragedy had affected the islanders.

"Because we all fly, it shakes us," he told AAP on Monday.

"I just hope everyone realises as catastrophic as this is, we just have to wait and see what the investigations find."

Golf tourism is "critically important" to the island of less than 2000 people, and in the past 12 to 18 months it has become an international golfing destination with two new courses opening.

The only way to access the island was by plane and there were about 10 to 15 commercial and charter flights a day, Mr McFie said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman said early advice was that transport connections or freight to King Island would not be significantly affected, if at all.

A flight scheduled on Tuesday afternoon out of Essendon to King Island was cancelled because the airport is closed for investigation, but other services are run via Tullamarine and Moorabbin airports.