A girl (7) survived a plane crash that killed four people and wandered from the wreckage to raise the alarm, US police say.

The light aircraft came down in a heavily wooded area of Lyon County, in western Kentucky.

A resident called officers when the distraught girl walked to his home and told him she had been in a plane crash.

Larry Wilkins (71) told NBC News he was watching TV when he heard a knock at the door.

"She was bleeding pretty bad, her legs were bleeding, her face had a bloody nose. She was barefoot, only had one sock on," he said.

"She told me that her mum and her dad were dead, and she was in a plane crash, and the plane was upside down."

"She asked if she could stay here. I said, 'Honey, what can I do for you?' I got a wash cloth and cleaned her up. And of course called 911."

The Piper PA-34 reported engine trouble and lost contact with air traffic controllers while flying over southwestern Kentucky at 6pm on Friday.

Kentucky State Police said Marty Gutzler (49), Kimberly Gutzler (45) their nine-year-old daughter Piper Gutzler, and her 14-year-old cousin Sierra Wilder died in the crash.

All four were from Nashville.

Police say the name of the seven-year-old girl is being withheld at her family's request.

Sergeant Dean Patterson, from Kentucky State Police, said: "This girl came out of the wreckage herself and found the closest residence and reported the plane crash."

"It's a miracle in a sense that she survived it, but it's tragic that four others didn't."

The girl was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The plane had taken off from Tallahassee Regional Airport, Florida, and was flying to Mount Vernon, Illinois.