Police have said they believe a couple from England and their daughter, who was in her 20s, were the victims of the plane crash near Oban.
The three people killed in a light aircraft crash in Scotland were a councillor his wife and daughter from Essex.
John Smith and his family died when their aircraft crashed on farmland near Oban in the west of Scotland.
Mr Smith lived with wife Angela and grown-up daughter Jacqueline in Burnham-on-Crouch.
Investigators have been trying to establish why the crash happened on Monday.
The plane carrying the family, which took off from Oban on Monday morning before being lost from radar screens, was heading for an airfield in Essex.
The plane carrying the family, which took off from Oban on Monday morning before being lost from radar screens, was heading for an airfield in Essex.
Wreckage, which was spread over a 400m area above Loch Scammadale. was found by a sheep farmer on Tuesday afternoon.
Wreckage, which was spread over a 400m area above Loch Scammadale. was found by a sheep farmer on Tuesday afternoon.
Investigators have been trying to establish why the crash happened.
Mr Smith had been a Conservative member of Maldon District Council since the early 1990s and was understood to have been at the controls of the aircraft.
Chief Inspector Ciorstan Shearer of Strathclyde Police said the crashed plane was thought to be a PA28 Piper Arrow 3 light aircraft.
Tom Kelly, a colleague on the council, said: "I just can't believe this has happened.
Remote location
"He was a very experienced pilot. They often went on breaks."
She said: "The inquiry is very much at the initial stages because it's such a rural setting.
Council leader Alan Cheshire said: "We are absolutely devastated."
"We are currently trying to establish who was on board the aircraft.
"Inquiries lead us to believe that it was a couple from England and their adult daughter in her 20s.
"The priority for Strathclyde Police is to find out exactly what has happened here."
Police investigators are yet to examine the site, about nine miles south of Oban, in detail.
There is no legal requirement to notify your destination and therefore there may be no-one to initiate an overdue action A Civil Aviation Authority spokesman
This was due to its remote location, Ms Shearer said.
She added that members of her team were liaising with staff from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, who are helping to direct the inquiry.
A farmer alerted police to the wreckage at about 1535 BST on Tuesday.
The plane had taken off from Connell Airfield at 1135 BST on Monday, heading for Andrewsfield, Great Saling, in Essex, via Blackpool.
Farmer's field
It was more than 24 hours before wreckage of the aircraft was discovered.
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said there was no legal requirement for a private pilot to file a flight plan unless they were going abroad or crossing a large expanse of water.
He added: "A big international airfield can track flights and launch a search and rescue if necessary.
"However, a private pilot may be leaving from a small airstrip or even a patch of land in a farmer's field.
"No-one may be aware they have left, let alone not arrived at their destination. There is no legal requirement to notify your destination and therefore there may be no-one to initiate an overdue action."
