Argentina flight instructor jumps to his death during training lesson

A 22-year-old student pilot safely brought a Cessna 150 down at Coronel Olmedo Airport after her instructor allegedly opened the door and jumped from the plane during a lesson over Toledo in Córdoba Province, Argentina. The instructor, Leandro Andrés Bertazzo, 42, was flying with Rosario on Saturday, July 6, when the training flight turned into a fatal emergency now under investigation by Argentine prosecutors.

Bertazzo reportedly removed his headset and seatbelt, opened the aircraft door and jumped after telling Rosario, “You know what you have to do, carry on.” Rosario, who held a license but did not yet have enough flight hours, told police she thought the jump was a joke and could not believe what had happened. Investigators said she was able to land the plane alone.

Flying Parrot Córdoba said Bertazzo had worked at the school since 2022. Eduardo Álvarez, the school’s director, said Bertazzo had flown with another student earlier the same day and that there had been no warning signs. Álvarez described Rosario’s handling of the emergency as “clear, decisive, mature and professional,” and said the aircraft sustained no damage in the landing.

The episode has put unusual pressure on questions of cockpit discipline, student readiness and how flight schools monitor instructor fitness before a routine lesson becomes a crisis. Rosario’s survival depended on training that left her able to control the Cessna 150 despite having fewer hours than the school required for more advanced flying.

Patricia Baulies, the Córdoba prosecutor leading the case, was investigating what would be a suicide. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office No. 2 of Córdoba said the inquiry remained open, with local reporting indicating authorities were examining both mechanical and personal factors. Bertazzo’s family said he had seen a psychiatrist last week and that he had been going through a bad period; local reports also said he had recently received neuropsychiatric treatment, information known only to close relatives.

The case left a licensed but still relatively inexperienced pilot with the burden of saving a plane after a sudden collapse in the cockpit, while investigators worked to determine how an instructor with no warning signs on the same day reached that point.