Victorian plane crash victims identified as young brothers Luke Smith, 20, and Ben Smith, 16, and their cousin Dustin Daly, 15

Two young brothers and their 15-year-old cousin have been identified as the three people killed in a light plane crash in eastern Victoria.

Pilot Luke Smith, 20, his younger brother Ben Smith, 16, and their cousin Dustin Daly, 15, were on board the plane when it crashed into a paddock and burst into flames at Tinamba West in east Gippsland about 5.45pm on Saturday.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Two young brothers and their 15-year-old cousin killed in light plane crash.

The plane took off at about 5.30pm on Saturday from West Sale airport.

It’s believed it was in the air for less than 20 minutes and was seen circling several times.

“From accounts that I’ve seen, there may have been circling or manoeuvring to resolve that issue or to try to find somewhere to land and unfortunately, that has happened,” Aviation Projects managing director Keith Tonkin said.

Witnesses have reported hearing a strange sound coming from the amateur-built aircraft in the moments before it crashed.

The Smith and Daly families released a statement on Monday morning, confirming the boys’ deaths.

“This is an incredibly difficult time for our family, and we kindly request privacy as we navigate through our grief,” Leonie and Alistair Smith and Amy and Matthew Daly said.

“Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this loss, and we ask for your understanding as we focus on supporting one another during this challenging period.

“We are grateful for the love and support from friends, family, and the community at large.

“Thank you for your respect and compassion.”

“They were all absolutely delightful human beings, and so this is a terrible loss,” aviation consultant and flying instructor Lorraine MacGillivray said.

Luke Smith had held a pilot’s licence since 2022, and was also an instructor.

“The conversations I had with him, he was diligent and he was committed and he was passionate about his flying,” MacGillivray said.

“He was also a flight instructor.”

The brothers were heavily involved in the Tongala football and cricket clubs.

Both have since offered counselling to the community, as a family and two regional communities mourn the loss of young lives.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is investigating the crash, describing the plane as an “amateur-built light aircraft”.

A team of investigators specialising in aircraft operations and maintenance will probe what happened.

Their focus will be on working out the sequence of events to try and determine what went wrong.

They will examine the wreckage, interview witnesses, comb through flight tracking data, examine other records and take pieces of the aircraft away for further examination in Canberra.

“We’ll start looking at the records of the plane itself, and maintenance records and pilot qualifications and the actual tasking or the nature of the flight itself,” ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said.

Anyone who saw what happened or has photos and video has been asked to come forward.

There have been 17 fatal flights in Australia this year.

-With AAP