Updated

Updated · The Daily Beast · Jul 8

Instructor Leandro Bertazzo Jumps From Cessna C-150, Leaving 22-Year-Old Student to Land Alone

Updated

Updated · The Daily Beast · Jul 8

Instructor Leandro Bertazzo Jumps From Cessna C-150, Leaving 22-Year-Old Student to Land Alone

Q: He was a cheerful professional applying for his dream job. What secret drove him to leap from his plane?

No one publicly knows what drove Leandro Andrés Bertazzo to jump. The evidence so far points to an intentional act, but not to a confirmed motive. What is established is stark: during a lesson in a Cessna 150 near Toledo, Argentina, Bertazzo told his 22-year-old student, Rosario, “You know what you have to do, carry on,” then removed his headset and seatbelt, opened the door, and leapt from the aircraft at roughly 250 meters. Rosario, though in shock, radioed for help and landed safely. The mystery is sharpened by how he was seen by others. Colleagues and the director of Flying Parrot Córdoba described him as cheerful, professional and highly experienced, with no obvious warning signs. He had worked at the school for years, had flown another lesson earlier that day without incident, and was reportedly applying to a major airline job he wanted badly. He had also passed routine physical and mental health checks. But there are hints that his private life may have been very different from his public image. His father said he had been “going through a rough patch,” and local reports said he had received neuropsychiatric treatment known only to close relatives. That suggests possible hidden mental-health struggles, though authorities have not confirmed any diagnosis or linked it directly to his death. Prosecutors are investigating the precise circumstances. Until that inquiry produces evidence, any claim about a specific “secret” would be speculation.

3 articles · Updated · The Daily Beast · Jul 8

A 22-year-old trainee pilot safely landed a two-seat Cessna in Argentina after instructor Leandro Bertazzo, 42, opened the cockpit door and jumped mid-flight over Toledo.
Bertazzo reportedly removed his headset, gathered his belongings and unfastened his seatbelt before exiting the aircraft; the student immediately alerted authorities and guided the plane back to the airfield.
Eduardo Alvarez, director of the flight school, said the student was badly shaken but made a perfect landing despite having only limited flight hours.
Bertazzo’s body was found in a nearby field about 20 minutes after the alarm, and prosecutors are investigating the still-unexplained death.