A Susi Air plane crashed in eastern Indonesia Wednesday, killing its South African pilot and an Australian passenger.

The Pilatus PC-6 crash was Susi Air's third fatal accident in the last 12 months, AFP reported.

Susi Air Operations Director Christian Strombeck spoke to AFP on Thursday, saying the bodies of the fatalities were found at around 1:30 am Thursday.

"The pilot was South African and the photographer was Australian. Both were killed," he said, adding the two were on a chartered flight and they were the only ones on board the aircraft, which was flying in East Kalimantan for some aerial photography when it crashed. The Australian passenger was understood to be a professional photographer.

"The plane crashed Wednesday at around 5:30 pm local time (0930 GMT), and the bodies were found at around 1:30 am Thursday," Mr Strombeck told AFP.

Another official had initially said the plane crashed at 1:30 am, AFP noted.

The Pilatus PC-6 plummeted to a site near a village in the Kutai Kartanegara district, according to the Indonesian National Disaster Mitigation Agency.

"The aircraft crashed at the edge of a ravine," said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia's disaster management office.

Susi Air is a small domestic airline operating mostly Cessna Grand Caravan planes, which are typically designed to carry 12 passengers and two pilots, AFP reported.

It is understood the name of the fatalities would be disclosed after their families are informed of the tragedy.