Flight Instructor Jumps to Death Mid-Flight, Leaving Student Pilot to Land By Herself

In a bizarre incident out of Argentina, a flight instructor committed suicide by jumping out of the plane mid-flight, leaving his student to land by herself.

Reportedly, 42-year-old Leandro Bertazzo told the 22-year-old student pilot, “You know what to do, keep moving forward,” before leaping to his death.

Thankfully, she was able to make a safe landing.

People reported:

The incident involving the death of 42-year-old Leandro Andrés Bertazzo occurred on Saturday, July 4, in Toledo, the country’s public prosecutor’s office said in a statement issued on Tuesday, July 7.

Bertazzo, an employee of the Flying Parrot Córdoba flying school, was flying a Cessna aircraft with a 22-year-old student, reported CNN affiliate TN.

According to the student — identified only by her first name, Rosario — Bertazzo told her, “You know what you have to do, carry on,” per TN. He then took off his headphones, put away his cellphone, unfastened his seatbelt, opened the plane door and fell to his death, La Nacion reported.

Afterward, Rosario maintained control of the Cessna and landed it safely, Del Sur Diario reported. She contacted authorities and indicated to them where she saw Bertazzo fall. Her information led to a search operation of the area. Authorities found Bertazzo’s body, and he was pronounced dead at the scene by medical authorities.

Here’s a photo of Bertazzo:

A student pilot successfully landed a plane by herself after her instructor jumped to his death mid-flight

She said her instructor told her "You know what to do" before leaping from the aircraft pic.twitter.com/u8qeGEi9Bz

— Dexerto (@Dexerto) July 8, 2026

This story is just as strange as it is terrible.

You can imagine how shaken up this student pilot must have been by seeing her flight instructor abruptly jump out of the plane to his death.

Yet, she remained calm enough to secure her own safety and make a proper landing. Thank God.

Bertazzo’s employer says that there were no signs that he was planning to do something like this prior to taking off that day.

Notably, he had taken another student to the skies for lessons earlier that same day, before getting into the cockpit again with the 22-year-old.

Daily Mail has more:

Eduardo Alvarez, director of flight school Flying Parrot Cordoba where Leandro had worked as an instructor for four years, recounted his conversation with the young student who said he ‘jumped’.

He told Argentinian media: ‘At one point Leandro told her, “You know what to do, keep moving forward.”

‘He took his headphones off, arranged his belongings including his mobile phone, took his seatbelt off, opened the door which is very difficult to open and jumped out.

She sent a message informing about the situation and proceeded to return to the runway to land.’

Describing Leandro as a man who was ‘always smiling’ and admitting no-one had suspected he was about to take such a dramatic decision, he added: ‘He took this tragic decision on board a plane with a person by his side.

‘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.’

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An investigation into the bizarre accident, which happened on Saturday afternoon near the small town of Toledo in the province of Cordoba in Argentina, is ongoing.

Officials have said the circumstances surrounding the tragedy are so unusual they cannot offer any explanation for the moment as to how it could have happened.

One of the lines of inquiry investigators are thought to be studying is whether the incident may have been the result of a mechanical failure related to a hatch or one of the aircraft’s safety systems.

They are checking the plane’s and flight school’s documentation and analysing communications maintained while the plane was in the air before the instructor fell out of it.

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Local reports said Leandro had received neuropsychiatric treatment, although only close relatives were apparently aware before Saturday’s tragedy.

Mr Alvarez described the student as ‘very clear, decisive, mature and professional.’

He added: ‘She was very shaken, but with complete professionalism she flew the plane to the airfield and made a perfect landing. She maintained a very high level of training and professionalism.’