TOKYO (AFP) - Two men believed to have been a pilot and his passenger were killed after an ultralight plane crashed into a golf course north-east of Tokyo, the police said on Sunday.

The two-seater plane went missing on Saturday after it took off from an airfield in Ibaraki prefecture.

The wreckage of the plane was found at a nearby golf course early Sunday with the two victims, aged 59 and 57, in the cockpit, a local police spokesman said.

They were unconscious and were later confirmed dead, the spokesman said, adding that the two were believed to have been travelling in the plane.

Police and the aviation authorities were investigating the cause of the crash.

Last month, a small plane crashed into a Tokyo suburb shortly after takeoff, killing two passengers and a woman on the ground.

Local media reported that engine trouble and excess weight were among the possible cause of the crash.