A Cairns man has been identified as one of five people who died in a plane crash near Lockhart River on Queensland's Cape York on Wednesday.

Key points: A tropical low over the Coral Sea is buffeting Lockhart River with heavy weather

A tropical low over the Coral Sea is buffeting Lockhart River with heavy weather Nearby resident David Glasheen says the weather was "volatile" when the plane went down

Nearby resident David Glasheen says the weather was "volatile" when the plane went down Staff from the Department of Education have been told to cancel all rural and remote travel

Mark Rawlings, 49, from Cairns, has been remembered as "the most loyal friend you could ask for" and "the life of the party".

Mr Rawlings died along with three QBuild workers and a 39-year-old pilot when the twin-engine Cessna 404 Titan crashed into sand dunes at Lockhart River, about 800 kilometres north of Cairns, on Wednesday morning.

The men, all from Cairns, had been flown into the area to carry out repair work on the local school.

But a tropical low in the Coral Sea has been buffeting the area with strong winds and heavy rain.

Police have confirmed the plane made two attempts to land before crashing on Quintell Beach, about 4 kilometres from the Lockhart River township.

Police and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) are investigating the crash.

Mark Rawlings was described by friends as an "overall good soul". ( Supplied: Sharlyne Smith )

Tides, crocodiles restrict access

Police Inspector Mark Henderson said the recovery mission will be slow.

"We are hampered by the tides. We are restricted to access across the beach at low tide," he said.

"The wildlife and the crocodiles come into play. There were crocodiles here last night — they will no doubt be again tonight."

Specialist police, members of the disaster victims identification unit, detectives and the forensic crash unit arrived at the wreckage on Thursday.

The recovery mission has been hampered by the tides, police say. ( ABC News )

He said the process would take several days.

"It's going to be a slow process — it is a very remote community, very limited resources and we will do our best to bring an ending to this for the families as soon as we possibly can," he said.

"The scene is one of a catastrophic impact — it appears the plane has impacted directly with the sand dunes, I would suggest probably at full speed.

"Any loss of life is tragic, any loss of life is something that no emergency worker wants to go to."

Inspector Henderson said he was not aware of how experienced the pilot was.

The plane wreckage can be seen at the start of a forest, by the beach. ( ABC News )

'Shockwaves through the community'

Lockhart River Mayor Wayne Butcher said he knew some of the QBuild workers killed in the crash.

"We've really done some really good projects in the community that these guys have been instrumental in supporting the community and connecting the community with government," he said.

He said the men were involved in the construction of new buildings at the local school.

"They were really good people, they were friendly people," he said.

"It sends shockwaves through the community when we have big tragedies such as this.

"It brought back a bit of bad memories because 15 years ago we had a serious crash not far from this location."

Lockhart River Mayor Wayne Butcher with Inspector Mark Henderson on the beach where the plane crashed. ( Supplied: Wayne Butcher )

'Absolutely devastating'

Close friend Sharlyne Smith said Mr Rawlings had a great sense of humour and would do anything for anyone.

"He was my husband's best friend … best man at our wedding, just an overall good soul basically … he'd been there since day one," Ms Smith said.

Ms Smith said the tragedy had come as a huge shock to everyone who knew Mr Rawlings, who lived in Cairns since he was a small child.

"Mark has touched so many people's lives in one way or another in this city," she said.

"He was just speaking to my husband on Monday night and he was getting on the plane to go and said he would be back by 2:30pm yesterday, and that didn't come.

"Finding out the news … my husband was just completely wrecked, and I was too, of course.

"To lose basically his brother is absolutely devastating. It's just that you didn't get to say goodbye."

Ms Smith said Mr Rawlings' relatives were "holding in there" and supporting each other through the tragedy.

"It's just so hard to process," she said.

"Marco Polo — the most loyal friend you could ever ask for — he was the life of the party … he would do anything for anybody and it was just an honour and a blessing to be part of his family and him to be part of ours."

Another close friend of 13 years, Deanna Small, said Mr Rawlings was a "great bloke" who was loved by many.

"He was always there for everybody else," she said.

Ms Small said Mr Rawlings' relatives were shocked but supporting each other through the tragedy.

"Everyone is at their house, a lot of family have flown in today. Everyone is pretty shocked and devastated," Ms Small said.

Volatile weather conditions

David Glasheen, who lives on Restoration Island, about 20 kilometres north of Lockhart River, said he heard but did not see the plane as it flew overhead.

He said weather conditions were volatile at the time.

Nearby resident David Glasheen says he heard the plane as it tried to land. ( Supplied: Alvaro Cerezo )

"I'm just amazed that they didn't try another airport because I've been on planes where they can't land and they go back to Coen or Weipa or even go back to Cairns," Mr Glasheen said.

"The wet season is very tricky because things change so quickly.

"It's very tragic — they were here to do repairs to the school."

Staff from the Department of Education in Far North Queensland have been told to cancel all travel to rural and remote areas because of "extreme weather conditions".

On Wednesday night, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk tweeted: "A tragic loss of life on Cape York today. I offer my deep condolences to the families and friends who are grieving for their loved ones."