Five dead after private jet crashes in rural Virginia

Five people are dead after a small private jet crashed in woods and burned near a small airport in rural Virginia.

The twin-engine IAI Astra 1125 went down amid trees along an airport road in Hot Springs, killing the pilot and three other adults along with a child, Virginia State Police said in a statement.

Police and other emergency responders converged on the site in Bath County after the crash on Sunday afternoon (Monday AEDT).

A state police spokesman told The Associated Press the plane caught fire on impact.

Investigators were working to confirm the origin of the flight and where it was flying to, Sergeant Rick Garletts said.

"Small crash site, everything is burnt, meaning the tail numbers are unidentifiable," Garletts said, adding state police were working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board to try to identify the flight details and the occupants.

An FAA statement gave no preliminary information on the circumstances of the crash and said that the agency and the NTSB will investigate.

Hot Springs is located about 265km west of the Virginia capital city, Richmond.

Local reports showed what appeared to be plumes of white smoke rising from an impact site. The airport was closed in the aftermath of the crash.