Eight skydivers had jumped from a plane two minutes before it crashed off the New South Wales coast, killing the pilot.

Paul Smith, 54, died when a skydiving plane he was piloting crashed in Moruya about 1.2 miles from the airport shortly after 2 p.m. on Saturday.

NSW Police Inspector Justin Marks told reporters the skydivers safely jumped from the plane at about 14,000 feet just two minutes before it crashed.

“The aircraft has come to rest in thick bushland adjacent to George Bass Drive, while the wing has come to a rest on George Bass Drive itself,” he said.

Paul Smith died when his plane crashed near the southern NSW coast on Saturday. NSW Police

Smith was a former skydiving company owner who had been skydiving for almost 40 years, with more than 10,000 hours logged as a pilot i

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