A flight training session in central Argentina turned into a tragic incident when the instructor pilot allegedly jumped from a moving aircraft during a lesson, leaving his student to take control and make a safe emergency landing despite the shock and distress.
According to U.S. news channel CNN, the incident took place on Saturday in Toledo, a city in central Argentina. The 42-year-old flight instructor, Leandro Andrés Bertazzo, was training a 22-year-old student named Rosario in a Cessna 150 aircraft.
According to the report, student pilot Rosario said that during the flight, Bertazzo told her, “You know what you have to do now, continue the flight.” He then removed his headset and seatbelt, opened the aircraft door and jumped out.
Following the incident, Bertazzo’s body was recovered, while Rosario, despite being in a state of severe shock, managed to successfully and safely land the aircraft. The flight school said the plane also suffered no damage.
A 22-year-old trainee pilot, Rosario, was undergoing flight training with her 42-year-old instructor, Leandro Bertazzo, in a Cessna 150 when the instructor reportedly opened the aircraft door and jumped out mid-flight
Eduardo Alvarez, director of the flight school where Bertazzo worked, said there had been no prior signs suggesting that Bertazzo intended to take such a step. He added that on the same day, Bertazzo had conducted a routine flight with another student.
Alvarez said that Bertazzo made this tragic decision inside the aircraft while another person was present. “It is very difficult to understand or even imagine this, but the human mind is extremely complex,” he said.
A student pilot was forced to land her plane alone after her instructor jumped from the aircraft during their flight in Argentina.
The 22-year-old had been training with her instructor, Leandro Bertazzo, 42, in a Cessna 150 when he evacuated the aircraft.
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Remembering Bertazzo, Alvarez said he was a very good person who was always smiling. “We cannot believe that something like this could happen,” he added.
Argentina’s public prosecutor’s office confirmed the incident and said a full investigation would be carried out to determine what exactly happened inside the aircraft before Bertazzo’s death.
