An RMIT student pilot has been killed after crashing on a solo training flight just west of Gordon.
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Police said the woman, who was the only person in the plane, died at the scene.
The aircraft, a Cessna 172, plunged from the sky and crashed into a paddock of privately owned property about 3.20pm on Tuesday.
Authorities said the plane crashed into Black Hill, an old volcanic crater off Old Melbourne Road. It appears to have slammed into the ground before skidding for more than 100 metres.
Black Hill rises sharply above Gordon to an altitude of almost 700 metres and cloud cover was low on Tuesday.
An employee at nearby Black Mount Springwater Supply told The Courier staff heard a plane hovering erratically in the sky for several minutes before it crashed into the paddock opposite the complex.
Fire crews, police and ambulance members were at the scene for hours. Wet conditions made it difficult for emergency service crew to access the scene with rescue vehicles becoming bogged.
Tractors were on hand to take emergency crew to and from the scene.
In a statement, RMIT vice-chancellor Martin Bean said the university community was “devastated” by the news. The university's operations at the Point Cook base have been suspended until further notice.
Mr Bean said he had personally visited RMIT's aviation training facility, at the Point Cook RAAF base, to be with students and staff on Tuesday night
Mr Bean said RMIT was assisting the Air Transport Safety Bureau, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and emergency services to determine how the crash occurred.
The age of the woman is yet to be confirmed.
Emergency service crews are at the scene of the fatal light plane crash just east of Ballarat.
Fire crews, police and ambulance members are at the scene of the crash of the Cessna 172 in a paddock on private property at Millbrook, near Gordon.