A flight instructor jumps from a two-seat Cessna 150G over the province of Córdoba, Argentina, leaving a 22-year-old student pilot to bring the aircraft down alone, according to multiple media reports. The instructor has been identified in reporting as Leandro Andrés Bertazzo; local prosecutors in Córdoba have opened an investigation and the plane is now in police custody.
Reporting from Fox News, which cites CNN and Argentine outlet TN, provides the principal contemporaneous accounts. Those outlets relay statements from the flight school director and the student; officials in Córdoba have not yet released a full investigative report.
Midflight incident
According to initial media accounts, Bertazzo, 42, was serving as the instructor aboard a Cessna 150G when he removed his gear, opened the aircraft door and exited the plane while airborne. The Cessna 150G is a two-seat trainer commonly used in primary flight instruction; media reports emphasize that the aircraft left the trainee alone at altitude.
Fox News and TN cite Eduardo Álvarez, director of Flying Parrot Córdoba, as providing on-the-record comments about the event. Álvarez told TN that, in his words, “He made this tragic decision on board an aircraft with another person by his side.” These specifics — the instructor’s name, the aircraft type and the school director’s quoted remark — come from those published reports.
Timeline recap
- Flight departs from Córdoba for a training sortie (reported by TN and relayed by Fox News).
- During the flight, the instructor reportedly removed his gear and exited the Cessna 150G (reported by TN; cited in English reporting by Fox News).
- The 22-year-old trainee was left alone, secured control and landed the aircraft safely at a nearby airfield (reported by TN and CNN, cited by Fox News).
- Prosecutors in Córdoba opened an investigation and the plane was taken into police custody (reported by local outlets and noted in English-language coverage).
Flight instructor jumps: how the student landed
Reports say the trainee — identified in coverage as a 22-year-old from Rosario — heard the instructor say, “You know what you have to do, carry on,” before exiting the aircraft. The flight school director told TN that the student was in “complete shock” but nonetheless managed to control and land the airplane.
According to TN and subsequent English-language reporting, the aircraft sustained no reported damage in the landing and there were no injuries to the student. The accounts emphasize the difficulty of the situation: flight-school staff described the mechanical and piloting demands as significant, noting that opening a small aircraft door in flight and exiting in such conditions is extremely difficult and uncommon in general aviation.
Investigation and official response
Prosecutors in Córdoba have taken the lead on an ongoing inquiry. Authorities have placed the Cessna in police custody as part of evidence preservation while they interview witnesses, review maintenance logs and examine any flight records or onboard equipment. Those steps were described in local reporting and in English articles that cite those reports.
Publicly available details so far come mainly from the flight school director and the student, as reported by TN and relayed by Fox News and CNN. Officials have not published the results of forensic examinations or a formal timeline from an official investigative authority; any references to the instructor’s medical or psychiatric history come from statements by the director and have not been independently verified by prosecutors.
Context and safety concerns
The instructor worked for Flying Parrot Córdoba, the local flight school represented by Álvarez. Álvarez told TN that Bertazzo had flown earlier that day with another student and also said, per TN reporting, that the instructor had previously visited a psychiatric institute — a sensitive detail the director said was known to the family. That reported contact with a psychiatric facility is cited here only as reported by the flight-school director to TN and has not been confirmed by prosecutors; it should not be read as an established cause of the incident.
The event highlights questions about emergency preparedness, instructor oversight and how small flight operators manage mental-health and safety protocols. Two-seat trainers like the Cessna 150G are commonly used for teaching, but an in-flight emergency that leaves a single occupant is rare and poses distinct challenges for an inexperienced pilot.
Why it matters
The episode matters for student-pilot safety and training standards. If verified, the circumstances could prompt regulators and schools to reassess screening, instructor support and in-flight emergency procedures. Transparency in the inquiry and clear reporting of official findings will be important to avoid speculation and to identify any practical lessons for flight training operations.
What comes next
Prosecutors in Córdoba are continuing their investigation, which is expected to include interviews with the student, family members, school staff and any witnesses, plus technical checks of the aircraft and review of logs. The plane remains in police custody during those procedures. Authorities will be the source of any formal conclusions; until their work is complete, reporting relies on statements published by the flight school and on coverage by TN, CNN and Fox News.
Source attribution: This article is based on reporting by Fox News (English) that cites coverage from CNN and Argentine outlet TN. See the original Fox News report linked below for the English-language account; TN and CNN coverage are cited by those reports and by Fox News.
Sources and links: Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/world/argentinian-flight-instructor-jumps-death-from-plane-22-year-old-student-forced-land-alone; CNN coverage referenced by Fox News: https://www.cnn.com/search?q=argentina+flight+instructor; TN (Todo Noticias) coverage referenced in reporting: https://tn.com.ar.
