NINE PEOPLE HAVE been killed after a small plane used in a sky diving operation crashed in the US state of Hawaii.

There were no survivors after the twin engine King Air plane crashed last night, a spokesman for Hawaii’s Department of Transportation said.

“Upon arrival, we saw the plane fully engulfed in fire,” Honolulu Fire Chief Manuel Neves told reporters on the scene. “The first crews on scene extinguished the fire.”

Neves said the crash occurred near the perimeter fencing of the small airport.

The plane was used in a sky dive operation, and Neves said some family members of those on board waited at the airport for the plane to return.

The debris field was relatively small, about 15m by 15m, he said.

The names, ages and genders of the deceased have not been released.

“In my 40 years as a firefighter here in Hawaii, this is the most tragic aircraft incident what we’ve had,” he told reporters at the scene, about an hour’s drive north of Honolulu.

Neves said many details are still not known about the flight, but said witnesses reported that the plane was inbound to the airport when the crash occurred, although this has not been confirmed.

With reporting from Associated Press.