The Australian passenger of the Susi Air plane that crashed Wednesday was able to send a text message to his employer saying the plane was having fuel problems.

Ian Russell McDougall, 57, and pilot Jonathan Willis, 28, were the only persons on board the Pilatus PC-6, which flew in Indonesia for an aerial survey for mining prospects.

There was supposed to be a second passenger, Major Sus Widodo, but he got off the plane shortly before it took off because he was not feeling well, Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Mr McDougall left behind his wife and seven-year-old child who both lived with him in Indonesia, the Herald reported.

Greg Neubecker, Mr McDougall's employer at specialist survey company PT Surtech Utama Indonesia, told the Herald he had been "a typical Aussie," adding, he was a nice guy who worked very hard and was very good at his job.

Mr McDougall was earlier reported to be a photographer, but his job involved operating LiDAR laser survey equipment from up in the air, according to Mr Neubecker.

Susi Air's co-founder and director of operations, Christian Von Strombeck, told the Herald the aircraft was less than three years old. He also dissuaded doubts against the pilot's skills, saying the pilot had 2000 hours flying time and had recently been promoted to the rank of captain.

Both the plane and the pilot had passed inspections recently, the Herald noted.

Mr Von Strombeck said initial findings point to a mechanical problem in the delivery of fuel from its auxiliary tanks to the engine. He said the plane had enough fuel to fly for up to two more hours.