Flight instructor dies after jumping from plane during lesson in Argentina

An instructor de flight in Córdoba, Argentina, died after jumping from a Cessna C-150 aircraft during a lesson, with authorities investigating the incident as a potential suicide. The 42-year-old instructor, Leandro Andrés Bertazzo, had reportedly sought psychiatric help days before the event.

The incident occurred while Bertazzo was accompanying a 22-year-old student pilot who was completing flight hours. According to the student's account, Bertazzo instructed her to maintain course, then removed his headset, gathered his belongings, put away his phone, unbuckled his seatbelt, and opened the aircraft door, falling to his death from an altitude of approximately 250 meters over a rural area.

The student, who had a pilot's license but needed more flight time, managed to communicate with air traffic control and land the aircraft safely. Bertazzo, a commercial pilot with experience in Chile and four years at Flying Parrot Córdoba, was described by colleagues as professional and good-humored. The school's director, Eduardo Álvarez, noted Bertazzo held a high-level FAA Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license.

Álvarez recounted that Bertazzo had seemed normal and cheerful on the day of the incident, only noting that he had asked a student to drive him to the aerodrome instead of using his usual car. His first flight of the day with another colleague reportedly showed no signs of distress. Following the incident, Bertazzo's colleagues and rural police initiated a search for his body in the area where he fell.