Young Highway Patrol officers were among the emergency services officers called to the scene near Cootamundra after an aircraft collided with a windmill and burst into flames shortly after 6.30pm.

The 50-year-old man and his 53-year-old wife were heading back to Cootamundra airport after participating in the Recreational Temora fly-in on Saturday but they failed to land, crashing four kilometres short of the runway at a property five kilometres west of the township.

The husband and wife, who both volunteered their time with the State Emergency Service (SES), were reportedly leaving a recreational fly-in at Temora as part of the 2012 Natfly event.

Mr Willis was known around Shoalhaven for his dedication to the SES, the Shoalhaven 4WD Club and the South Coast Recreational Flying Club.

Elaine Willis was a passionate supporter and ambassador for CanAssist.

Ultralight aircraft such as the two-seater that crashed, are not allowed to fly at night, in bad weather, above 300 metres or in controlled airspace.

On Sunday, detectives from the NSW police aviation support branch (PolAir) and personnel from Recreational Aviation Australia did a series of fly-overs, assessing the Cootamundra property and mapping out possible scenarios that may have contributed to the accident.

Officers attached to Cootamundra Local Area Command attended and established a crime scene which is being examined by specialist officers.

Investigating officers are attempting to establish the circumstances surrounding the crash and are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.