In a frightening situation in mid-flight, a young student pilot was forced to land her plane alone after her instructor “jumped” from the aircraft to his death.
The incident took place Monday over Toledo, Argentina, as the 22-year-old woman with few flying hours was training with her instructor, Leandro Bertazzo, 42, in a Cessna C-150 when he opened the window and leaped out of the plane.
The Daily Mail reports: “Despite watching Mr. Bertazzo plunge to his death, she still managed to land the Cessna C-150 safely and unaided at Coronel Olmedo Airport, where they took off, and alerted authorities to the emergency situation.”
Student pilot, 22, is forced to land her plane alone after instructor leaps to his death from cockpit mid-flight in Argentina https://t.co/BVapNFgGvs
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) July 7, 2026
Twenty minutes later, Bertazzo was found dead in a field in the location the woman marked out as the place he possibly plunged.
The Daily Mail indicates:
Eduardo Alvarez, director of flight school Flying Parrot Cordoba where Leandro had worked as an instructor for four years, recounted his conversation with the young student who said he ‘jumped’.
He told Argentinian media: ‘At one point Leandro told her, “You know what to do, keep moving forward.”
‘He took his headphones off, arranged his belongings including his mobile phone, took his seatbelt off, opened the door which is very difficult to open and jumped out.
‘She sent a message informing about the situation and proceeded to return to the runway to land.’
Describing Leandro as a man who was ‘always smiling’ and admitting no-one had suspected he was about to take such a dramatic decision, he added: ‘He took this tragic decision on board a plane with a person by his side.
‘There’s no way to think about it or understand it, but the human mind is so complex, so treacherous. That’s why what happened, happened.’ …
Local reports said Leandro had received neuropsychiatric treatment, although only close relatives were apparently aware before Saturday’s tragedy.
Mr Alvarez described the student as ‘very clear, decisive, mature and professional.’
He added: ‘She was very shaken, but with complete professionalism she flew the plane to the airfield and made a perfect landing. She maintained a very high level of training and professionalism.’
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