Student pilot left to land the plane after flight instructor jumps to his death
In the middle of a flying lesson, a flight instructor in Argentina reportedly jumped to his death, leaving a student pilot to land the plane herself.
“You know what you have to do,” instructor Leandro Andrés Bertazzo, 42, told his 22-year-old student Rosario, according to Argentinian news outlet Todos Noticias (TN) . After which Bertazzo reportedly took off his headset and seatbelt, opened the door and jumped out of the plane.
CNN reports the incident took place in Toledo on Saturday, per a statement published by the public prosecutor on Tuesday. Despite being in “complete shock,” the student pilot managed to land the plane.
Upon landing the Cessna C-150, Eduardo Álvarez, director of the Flying Parrot Córdoba flight school, took to the sky and found where Bertazzo had landed. He reportedly passed that info along to authorities and first responders dispatched to the site confirmed the pilot’s death.
“He made this tragic decision aboard an aircraft with one other person by his side,” Álvarez told a local radio station, per TN.
“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.”
The director also revealed that Bertazzo “had been to a neuropsychiatric institute,” but “only his family” knew of that. No other details about his mental health were immediately available.
According to his employer, Bertazzo has been with the school in Coronel Olmedo for a decade, earning several licenses, including Airline Transport Pilot (ATP), first-class commercial pilot and flight instructor. He’s also flown in neighbouring Chile.
On the day of the incident, it was business as usual as he arrived, greeted his co-workers, went about his normal routine and took a smooth practice flight with a licensed pilot.
He then took to the air with the 22-year-old, who TN reports had a private pilot’s license but had few hours in the air, which is why the more seasoned Bertazzo joined her.
Álvarez lauded the young pilot’s composure after Bertazzo “opened the door, which is very difficult to open” and leapt to his death in the rural area south of the central Argentine city of Córdoba.
“She was very shaken, but with complete professionalism, she piloted the plane to the airfield and landed perfectly,” he said, describing her actions in the alarming moment and afterward as “clear, decisive, mature, and professional.”
The matter is now under investigation by the Federal Court of Córdoba.
If you’re thinking about suicide or are worried about a friend or loved one, please contact 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline by calling or texting 9-8-8 toll-free. The service is available 24/7. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911.
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