A routine flight training session turned into a literal nightmare in mid-air over Toledo, Argentina, when a highly experienced 42-year-old flight instructor jumped to his death mid-flight.
He left his 22-year-old student, Rosario, completely alone in the cockpit to fight for her life and land the aircraft by herself.
Flight instructor Leandro Andrés Bertazzo, 42, was giving a lesson in a two-seat Cessna C-150 when he turned to his student, identified as Rosario, and said, “You know what you have to do, carry on,” La Nacion reported.
He then removed his headset, unbuckled his seatbelt, arranged his belongings, opened the cabin door, an act flight school director described as extremely difficult, comparable to opening a car door while traveling at 200 kilometers per hour, and jumped out.
The student, who holds a private pilot’s license but had limited flight hours, was left in complete shock. Despite the unimaginable situation, she kept her composure, contacted air traffic control and her flight school, and executed a perfect, flawless landing at Coronel Olmedo Airport.
The plane was undamaged. Colleagues who spoke with her afterward praised her actions as “clear, decisive, mature, and professional.”
Bertazzo’s body was later found in a nearby field.
Eduardo Álvarez, director of the Flying Parrot Córdoba flight school where Bertazzo worked, said there had been no indication that the experienced instructor intended to take his own life.
“He made this tragic decision on board an aircraft with another person by his side… It’s impossible to think about it or understand it, but the human mind is so complex,” Álvarez said.
He noted that Bertazzo had flown another lesson earlier the same day and described him as a respected instructor.
Argentine prosecutors have opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident. Bertazzo’s father later told local media that his son had been struggling personally and had sought psychiatric treatment.
Authorities have not announced any findings beyond confirming that the investigation remains ongoing.
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