Glenorchy Air owners Robert and Janet Rutherford yesterday said in a statement the Piper Cherokee 6 crashed ''just before it reached its next destination and landing at Poolburn airstrip''.
Pilot Ray Crow (56) was experienced at mountain flying, and had ''flown this particular route many, many times'', Mr Rutherford said.
The aircraft had been on its expected flight path, and the pilot had been in regular contact with the company's office, they said.
Transport Accident Investigation Commission deputy chief investigator Peter Williams and air accident inspector Sam Stephenson, both of Wellington, spent the day studying the crash site, near the Poolburn Dam, about 20km east of Alexandra.
Snow fell at the site on Tuesday night and about 2.5cm of frozen snow coated the ground and wreckage of the Piper Cherokee yesterday.
More snow was forecast last night and today so the site inspection was concluded and wreckage removed late yesterday to be stored under cover.
''We're expecting enough snow in the next few days to completely obliterate what's here on site,'' Mr Williams said.
The investigation was likely to take ''the best part of a year'' to complete. Mr Crow, of Queenstown, died at the scene on Tuesday and the two passengers, Sarah and Eric Hoffman, of the United States, both aged in their 30s, remained in a stable condition in Dunedin Hospital yesterday.
The Rutherfords yesterday described Mr Crow as a ''good friend and colleague who will be very sorely missed by us all''.
He had worked for the company for about six years, and was a ''very experienced and careful pilot'' who loved flying.
Mr Crow enjoyed being a tour guide, Mr Rutherford said.
Glenorchy Air suspended commercial operations to focus on supporting family, staff and the injured passengers, and was working closely with the TAIC, police and other authorities. The company had been in contact with the two passengers to ensure they were receiving ''all possible care and support''.
Air Milford owner Hank Sproull said Mr Crow was a ''lovely guy'' and news of his death was ''gut-wrenching''.
A former Londoner, Mr Crow came to New Zealand after retiring from a cleaning business, and had only recently returned from a holiday in England.
Wakatipu Aero Club president Adrian Snow said Mr Crow had been a member for 14 years, and the news had ''hit the aero club and its members very hard''.
A ''genuine and likeable'' man, Mr Crow was highly respected in the aviation fraternity and known as a cautious pilot, he said.
Mr Crow gained his commercial pilot's licence through the club in 2008, and flew for its charter arm, Air Wakatipu, ''on and off'' for about a year before joining Glenorchy Air in 2009.
Mr Crow's son, Dan, paid tribute to his father on social media, saying he had ''died doing what he loved most''.
Dan Crow said he knew his father's job was dangerous, and that colleagues had also lost their lives flying.
His father was ''the most loyal, hard-working, strongest-willed person I have ever met ... ''Mr Williams said part of the TAIC inquiry was establishing a flight path.
The investigators had been told the plane travelled from Omarama to Poolburn and the plan had been to land at the private airstrip on Bonspiel Station, near the accident site. The flight was visiting locations used in the filming of The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Mr Williams would not speculate on the potential cause of the crash.
''It's way too early to comment. It will take us quite a while to formulate our conclusions and we'll have to have a thorough inspection of the plane.''
The Piper Cherokee was in many ways a ''simple airplane with simple systems so that will help our inquiry, to some extent''.
He was unable to say whether the plane was taking off or landing at the time of the crash: ''That's among the things we've yet to figure out.''
The left wing and left wheel had been broken off and were lying about 10m to the rear of the plane. The crash survivors would be interviewed as part of the investigation, when they were well enough, Mr Williams said.
