Essendon DFO to reopen with memorial for plane crash victims

Mourners will be able to pay their respects near the site of a deadly plane crash in Melbourne that smashed into a shopping centre not far from the runway where it took off.

DFO Essendon has remained closed since the Tuesday tragedy, but a dedicated area will be set up outside Homemaker Centre at 12pm today for people to pay their respects.

The centre's management, Vicinity Centres, decided to open the area but still keep the shopping centre closed.

"Out of respect for those who lost their lives and their families, we have made the decision not to reopen the centre until Monday morning," Vicinity Centres chief executive Angus McNaughton said.

"This allows our community the opportunity to pay their respects."

The centre will provide on-site counselling for the DFO workers next week when it reopens.

One store is damaged from the crash, while 11 other stores are without power.

They won't reopen on Monday, management said.

Those killed were an Australian pilot and four US tourists on a golfing trip to King Island.

It's believed catastrophic engine failure may have caused the tragedy.

The flight recorder from the plane is undergoing analysis.

Commercial flights resumed at Essendon airport yesterday.

READ MORE: Friends rally around pilot as deadly Essendon plane crash investigated

READ MORE: Colleagues, friends and family mourn victims ‘doing what they loved’ before Essendon DFO plane crash