Student pilot dies after plane crash in Melbourne

A teenage pilot has died in hospital three days after the plane he was flying with an instructor plunged to the ground in Melbourne.

Hong Kong national Nicholas Cheung, 19, suffered face, chest and spinal injuries in the crash.

He remained trapped in the wreckage for hours before being freed.

Mr Cheung died in hospital today, Victoria Police confirmed in a statement this afternoon.

Pilot John Dwyer, 25, remains in the Royal Melbourne Hospital with critical injuries.

Emergency crews were called to Pound Road in Clyde North just after 10.30am on Thursday after witnesses reported seeing smoke come from the plane.

Witnesses said it appeared the pilot was looking for a place to land, before signalling a mayday call and crashing into a paddock.

Recreation Aviation Australia is now investigating the exact cause of the crash, police said.

The Bristol single-engine aircraft was operated out of Moorabbin by Learn to Fly Melbourne.

The company told 9NEWS the team were "devastated and shocked" by the crash.