A flight instructor has died in Virginia after the plane she was in crashed while it was being piloted by an 18-year-old student.

The tragic incident occurred on Thursday (October 6), after 23-year-old Swedish flight instructor and licensed commercial pilot Viktoria Theresie Izabelle Ljungman started her 3:00PM session with the teenager at Williamsburg International Airport.

As reported by WMAR, Virginia State Police say the teenage student pointed the nose of the plane up at too steep an angle following take-off. This caused the engine to stall while the plane was in the air.

The aircraft - a single-engine Cessna 172 - then started to dive to the ground before crashing into a nearby ditch. Fox 5 reports that the height of the crash was around 100 feet.

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Ljungman - who resided in Williamsburg, Virginia - was pronounced dead at the scene.

Miraculously, the 18-year-old student survived. Police say another 18-year-old male student was also in the plane at the time of the crash. Both teenagers were flown to VCU Hospital in Richmond, where they have been treated for what Fox 5 reports as "life-threatening injuries".

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Ljungman attended Virginia's Hampton University on a tennis scholarship, before eventually going on to become a flight instructor.

Viktoria had amassed more than 17,000 followers on Instagram, where she would often document her flying career - writing that her dream was to one day become an airline pilot.

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Myana Maybry, a former friend of Ljungman, told WAVY-TV: "Viktoria didn't have a single bad bone in her body. Not only was she nice, but she was intelligent, beautiful, adventurous, punctual, a risk taker, and radiated positive energy.

"She was truly someone you only meet once. And I will love her until the day after forever."

Additionally, many of Ljungman's most recent Instagram posts have been flooded with tributes, with one friend writing: "I was just as confused as you on the first day that we met registering at Hampton, but after you told me you were an international student, I knew I had to pretend to know something.

"The truth is you made me feel way more relaxed starting out at our big new campus, even though I was the one closer to home. I wish I had known how meaningful it would be to tell you that a long time ago. I am so sorry for your loved ones, and I pray your next journey is one of peace and light."

Our thoughts go out to Ljungman's family and friends at this time.

Featured image credit: Instagram/viktoriathepilot

Virginia flight instructor killed in plane crash piloted by 18-year-old student