A pilot who became renowned for rescuing animals has died in a plane crash in New York state while transporting three rescue dogs said officials.

A Virginia pilot and a rescue dog he was transporting were killed after a plane he was flying crashed in New York on Sunday, authorities said.

Authorities say a pilot and a rescue dog he was transporting to an animal shelter were killed when a small plane crashed in the snowy woods of the Catskill Mountains, though two other dogs were later found to have survived.