A flight instructor fatally jumped from a small plane in Argentina during a lesson, leaving the student pilot at the controls to bring the aircraft down safely on her own.
Leandro Andrés Bertazzo, 42, was aboard a two-seat Cessna 150G on Saturday when he jumped from the aircraft over Córdoba province, CNN reported, citing its Argentine affiliate TN.
“He made this tragic decision on board an aircraft with another person by his side,” Eduardo Álvarez, director of the Flying Parrot Córdoba flight school where Bertazzo worked, told TN. “It’s impossible to think about it or understand it, but the human mind is so complex.”
An undated image shows Leandro Andrés Bertazzo, the 42-year-old pilot who died after jumping from a plane in Argentina on Saturday, July 4. (Instagram/Leandro Bertazzo)
Rosario, the 22-year-old student pilot, later told investigators that Bertazzo said, “You know what you have to do, carry on,” before removing his gear, opening the aircraft door and jumping, according to Álvarez.
Álvarez noted that forcing open an aircraft door in flight is extremely difficult, comparing it to trying to open a car door while traveling at 124 miles per hour.
A Cessna 150M FRA150M climbs after takeoff with its flaps deployed and hills in the background. (aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Despite being in “complete shock,” Rosario was able to land the aircraft safely, Álvarez said. TN reported that the plane was not damaged.
Álvarez noted that Bertazzo had gone on a flight with another student earlier in the day.
A view from the main road of the flight school Bertazzo worked at, Flying Parrot Córdoba. (Google Maps)
Álvarez also told TN that Bertazzo had visited a psychiatric institute, something that was only known by his family prior to his death.
Prosecutors in Córdoba will lead the investigation into Bertazzo’s death. The plane he jumped from is now in police custody.
