A trainee pilot from India has come in for all round praise in Australia as he managed to crashland away from a primary school Thursday. He himself died though.

24-year-old Akash Ananth on a solo flight missed the Cheltenham East Primary School by just 60 metres as his plane, caught in a mid-air collision, plummeted to earth.

The Cessna exploded at the back of a block of units opposite the school, where 220 students were on a lunch break.

The pilot, 24-year-old Akash Ananth, died on impact, but may have saved dozens of lives by guiding the plane away from the school grounds.

Another student pilot, also Indian, and his instructor in the second plane managed to return to Moorabbin airport.

Both trainee pilots were learning to fly with the Royal Victorian Aero Club.

Language difficulties between the Indian students and the air traffic control tower have been identified as a possible cause of the tragedy.

"We were very lucky that the pilot's skill allowed him to land the aircraft where he did," a Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokeswoman said.

"Had he crashed across the road, he would have gone straight into the primary school.

"He managed to land the aircraft in such a way as to protect the public.

"He was a bit of a hero."

The dead pilot, an Indian national from Bangalore in southern India, arrived in Australia two months ago and was staying with his cousin, Dilip Mysore, and his family in Clayton South.