Emergency services have rescued a man who was trapped following a plane crash in the Buckland Valley, in Victoria's north-east.
Police said the plane took off from Porepunkah airstrip about 4:40am before crashing into trees.
Emergency services were not called until just after 11am when the Canberra rescue coordination centre noticed a plane had not checked in and raised the alarm.
The pilot, a man in his 50s and the sole occupant of the plane, was treated at the scene and has been airlifted to hospital in a stable condition, with upper and lower body injuries.
State Emergency Service Hume regional duty officer Dan Walton said it had been a big response, with Ambulance Victoria, the Country Fire Association, and Victoria Police working together to quickly find and treat the man.
"You automatically go to the worse case scenario, especially with that time delay, but it just goes to prove it's never too late to go out to help," Mr Walton said.
"It's a very fortunate person that's come out of this one with a chance to continue, so we're really happy that's the case."
