Family of four killed in plane crash on their way back home from a dream holiday.

Jennifer, Joseph, Jillian and Jacob Crenshaw were returning from a family holiday to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, when the light plane they were travelling home in crashed.

Their plane took off from Kissimemee, Florida at 12:52 pm on Saturday, before the plane crashed around 2:30 pm over Alabama.

Jennifer, 43, Joseph, 45, and their two children, 16-year-old Jacob and 14-year-old Jillian, were killed in the crash.

"The relatives are grief stricken and in shock," the family said in a statement to ABC National News.

"They are a prominent family in Jackson Tennessee with roots that go back to the revolutionary war."

The National Transportation Safety Board have not yet determined what caused the accident, but preliminary reports suggest the family's plane came apart in the sky while flying at a lower altitude.

PEOPLE reports witnesses saw debris falling out of the sky, with the crash site stretching across five fields.

A local resident, Charles Cullwell, told WIAT that parts of the plane landed on his property.

"It is a mess, it's a rubble of tin, and you cannot tell it's a plane," he said.

Another witness said she saw the plane as it was falling from the sky.

"It spun around and took a nose dive down the wing came down over us the wind carried it over into the field," Brittany Reno said.

LISTEN: Andrew Daddo and Holly Wainwright discuss how we should introduce our kids to grief.

Air traffic controllers said they received a 'may day' call at around 2:34pm.

The University School of Jackson, where both Jillian and Jacob were students, posted a tribute on Facebook to the family.

"Our school community is grieving the heartbreaking loss of the Crenshaw family," the school wrote.

"Yesterday, we lost 10th-grade student Jacob and 8th grader Jillian, along with their parents Joseph and Jennifer, in an accident as they were returning from a spring break trip to Florida.

"At USJ, we are a family, and we will bear this burden together. We ask that you make us aware of any needs you or your children may have during this time of grief."