Student, 22, forced to land plane after pilot jumps to death from aircraft

A student pilot was forced to pull off a landing alone after her instructor reportedly took his seatbelt off and plunged to his death mid-flight. The terrifying mid-air drama unfolded on Saturday afternoon (July 4) over Córdoba, Argentina, leaving a 22-year-old student, named only as Rosario, at the controls of a Cessna C-150.

Her highly experienced instructor, 42-year-old Leandro Andrés Bertazzo, vanished from the aircraft in circumstances that have stunned aviation investigators. A statement from the country’s public prosecutor, published on Tuesday, confirmed he was found dead following the incident. Despite witnessing the horrific moment her mentor disappeared from the cockpit, the young woman, who holds a pilot’s licence but has very few flying hours, bravely managed to guide the plane back to Coronel Olmedo Airport completely unaided.

Eduardo Alvarez, the director of the Flying Parrot Córdoba flight school where Mr Bertazzo worked, revealed the chilling final moments inside the cockpit. According to traumatised Rosario, Mr Bertazzo calmly prepared to leave the aircraft.

“At one point Leandro told her, ‘You know what to do, keep moving forward,'” Mr Alvarez told local media. “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.”

Rosario immediately radioed an emergency alert before turning the aircraft back toward the runway. Following her safe landing, emergency services used the coordinates she provided to launch a search. Mr Bertazzo’s body was discovered 20 minutes later in a field near the town of Toledo.

Mr Alvarez praised the young pilot’s astonishing composure under unimaginable pressure, describing her as “very clear, decisive, mature, and professional.”

“She was very shaken, but with complete professionalism she flew the plane to the airfield and made a perfect landing,” he added.

Tributes have been paid to Mr Bertazzo, a former commercial pilot in Chile, who was described by colleagues as a man who was “always smiling”. Earlier in the day, he had taken another student out for a flight with absolutely no signs of distress. Local reports have since suggested he had previously undergone neuropsychiatric treatment.

Air crash investigators have admitted they are baffled by the tragedy and are currently keeping an open mind. While the student’s account points to a deliberate act, officials are also probing whether a catastrophic mechanical failure, such as a faulty hatch or safety system, could have played a role. Investigators are currently auditing the flight school’s documentation and analysing all radio communications from the flight to piece together exactly what happened.

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