Investigation Opened After Flight Instructor Jumped To His Death During Flying Lesson
An investigation is underway in central Argentina after a highly experienced flight instructor suddenly took off his headset, unbuckled his seatbelt, and jumped to his death from a moving training plane during a flying lesson.
Leandro Andrés Bertazzo, 42, was in mid-air alongside his 22-year-old student, Rosario, on Saturday, July 4th, when the tragedy unfolded inside a Cessna 150G. According to local media outlet Todos Noticias (TN), Bertazzo turned to his student right before opening the aircraft door and exiting.
“You know what you have to do, carry on,” Bertazzo told her.
Despite being in complete shock over the traumatic incident, Rosario, who already holds a private pilot's license, managed to keep her composure. She immediately contacted officials at the Flying Parrot flight school in Córdoba, who guided her through emergency procedures. She brought the aircraft down safely at the airfield without any damage to the plane.
Eduardo Álvarez, the director of the flight school, praised Rosario's exceptional composure under extreme duress, calling her actions *"very clear, decisive, mature, and professional."*
Álvarez spotted Bertazzo’s body from a search plane roughly 15 minutes after the jump, alerting emergency workers to a rural field in Córdoba, where the instructor was pronounced dead.
The tragedy has left colleagues completely stunned. Álvarez described Bertazzo as a veteran pilot who held multiple prestigious licenses, including working as an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) and a first-class commercial pilot, and had previously taught students in Chile. He had even completed a successful training run with a completely different student earlier that same day, showing no visible signs of distress.
Following the incident, it emerged that Bertazzo had been quietly dealing with severe mental health issues, a fact known only to his immediate family.
“He had been in a neuropsychiatric institute, but nobody knew about it. Only his family,” Álvarez revealed to TN. “He made this tragic decision on board an aircraft with another person by his side,” Álvarez added. “It’s impossible to think about it or understand it, but the human mind is so complex.”
Aviation officials noted that the mechanics of the exit itself were highly unusual. Small aircraft doors are heavily affected by outside air pressure mid-flight, making them incredibly difficult to open. Álvarez compared the sheer physical strength required for the feat to trying to open a car door while traveling at roughly 125 mph (200 km/h).
Attorney General Carlos Gonella’s office has formally opened an investigation to map out the exact circumstances leading up to the fatal fall, and authorities have seized the undamaged Cessna to inspect it as part of the case.
