A flight instructor jumped out of a training aircraft in mid-air, leaving his student to land the plane on her own. The incident took place in Toledo, central Argentina, on 4th July. The instructor, identified as Leandro Andrés Bertazzo, was conducting a lesson in a Cessna 150G aircraft over the town of Toledo in central Argentina when the incident took place. According to the media reports, Bertazzo suddenly told his 22-year-old student, Rosario, “You know what you have to do, carry on,” before unfastening his seat belt and headset.
Reports said the instructor then opened the aircraft door and jumped from the plane while it was still in flight.
A student pilot successfully landed a plane by herself after her instructor jumped to his death mid-flight
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) July 8, 2026
She said her instructor told her "You know what to do" before leaping from the aircraft pic.twitter.com/u8qeGEi9Bz
Rosario, who already holds a private pilot’s licence, immediately contacted staff at the Flying Parrot flight school in Córdoba and informed them about what had happened. Instructors on the ground guided her through emergency procedures and helped her bring the aircraft back safely.
Despite the traumatic experience, the student managed to land the training aircraft without incident.
The director of the flight school, Eduardo Álvarez, praised her response to the emergency. “Very clear, decisive, mature and professional,” he said while describing her actions. “She was very shaken, but with complete professionalism, she piloted the plane back to the airfield and landed perfectly. She maintained a very high level of training and professionalism,” Álvarez added.
Around 15 minutes after the incident, Álvarez joined a search flight and located Bertazzo’s body in a field in a rural part of Córdoba. Emergency responders later reached the site and confirmed his death.
Speaking about the incident, Álvarez said he could not understand what had led his colleague to make such a decision.
“He made this tragic decision aboard an aircraft with one other person by his side. There’s no way to understand it, but the human mind is so complex. That’s why what happened, happened,” he said.
Prosecutors have now opened an investigation into the incident and have seized the aircraft as part of efforts to determine the circumstances surrounding Bertazzo’s death.
