AIR and ground searches will resume in dense bushland west of Murwillumbah early on Thursday as crews work to find a missing pilot and his light airplane.

Tweed / Byron Local Area Command Chief Inspector Luke Arthurs said teams would target an area of damaged trees after locals on horseback discovered the site and alerted police.

The Polair chopper was called to the scene but failed to find any signs of the missing pilot or plane, he said.

Jackie Lilley, Tweed Byron Local Area Command Acting Inspector, said difficult terrain was providing challenging conditions with crews unable to see even "20-metres in front of where they are searching".

"I don't know that there will be an area search overnight," she said. "So I think they're looking to resume first thing tomorrow morning with (NSW State Emergency Services).

"There will be another aerial and ground search.

"We (will still be focussed on the same area), we don't have any information to suggest we should be concentrating efforts elsewhere at this stage."

Police previously confirmed a man, reported to be 72-year-old Ian Sinnott, took off from Murwillumbah's Bob Whittle Memorial Airfield on Tuesday about 10am and failed to return.

The alert was raised and the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter began scouring the area. It was later joined by Queensland's Rescue 500 chopper.

Three helicopters took to the air on Wednesday as search efforts ramped up but no sign of the pilot or his ultralight plane could be found.

Mr Sinnott was today described as a "loveable character" who was an experienced pilot and still worked commercially in the air.

Johnnie, a friend of the family who asked that her surname be withheld, was part of a hanger group based at the airfield, that included the missing pilot.

She described the group as "one big happy family" and said "we all care for one another and this is just a real tragedy".

"We love Ian," she added, from the airfield earlier today. "We love his wife, and his family."

Johnnie described Mr Sinnott as an experienced pilot and said he only purchased the ultralight in recent weeks from Tasmania.

She said he may have been a Vietnam War veteran. She said those who knew him were devastated but were trying to remain positive as they wait for news.

"We don't know (what's happened to him) but we hope," she said.

"We hope that he may be on the ground somewhere. I think it's hope and pray he can survive it."

Search efforts have been focused on terrain near Limpinwood, about 20km west of Murwillumbah.