Six people have walked safely to shore after a light plane crash off Darwin's coastline at East Point around half past eight this morning.

The Piper Chieftain had just left Darwin Airport travelling to the remote Northern Territory community of Maningrida when the pilot started to experience engine trouble.

Local residents say they saw the plane ditch onto a sandbar.

The pilot managed to safely land in the low tide shallow water.

He's been lauded by emergency services for doing an extraordinary job of getting the plane down without injuries.

The five passengers, who work for Darwin-based information technology services company Connected Solutions Group (CSG) and the pilot, walked the 200 metres to shore.

CSG also owns the plane and Managing Director Denis Mackenzie says the company is now making sure staff involved in the accident are being looked after.

"We have other aeroplanes and other pilots and we'll continue operating," he says.

"We'll be offering counselling services to the staff involved here and it'll be up to the pilot before he decides to fly again."

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) will conduct a basic investigation into the crash.

CASA spokesman Peter Gibson says they will be looking for any engineering problems that can be prevented in future.

The plane is now underwater and authorities won't be able to retrieve it until low tide tomorrow morning.