A flight instructor who leaped to his death from a small plane mid-lesson had secretly been undergoing psychiatric treatment, his family has revealed.
Leandro Bertazzo, 42, jumped from the pilot’s seat of a two-seat Cessna 150 on July 4 over Toledo, in Argentina’s Córdoba province, leaving his 22-year-old student to land the aircraft alone. As the Daily Beast reported on Tuesday, the trainee held a pilot’s license but had only limited flying hours behind her.
The instructor calmly stowed his phone and belongings, unclipped his seatbelt, opened the door, and jumped, according to La Nación, as reported by the Daily Mail. Before he did so, he told the student to hold the planned course, saying, “You know what you have to do.”
Eduardo Álvarez, who runs the flight school Bertazzo flew for, only learned of the treatment afterward. He told La Nación that when he spoke with the instructor’s father on Saturday afternoon, he was told his son had been going through “a bad time.”
Bertazzo’s family also revealed he had visited a psychiatric hospital days before he died, Álvarez said. His colleagues had no idea.
The flight school requires lessons to be suspended if any condition arises that might compromise a pilot in the air. But Álvarez acknowledged such situations are hard to spot when they aren’t disclosed. “We are all shocked,” he said.
Despite watching her instructor plunge to the ground, the student guided the Cessna safely back to Coronel Olmedo Airport, where the pair had taken off. She alerted authorities to the emergency. Bertazzo’s body was found around 20 minutes later in a field near the spot she had pointed out.
Álvarez praised her response, describing her 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.”
Bertazzo, who described himself online as a former commercial pilot in Chile, was single, had no children, and lived with his parents in the city of Córdoba, according to Para Ti, as reported by the Mail. Álvarez remembered him as a man who was “always smiling.”
Investigators are examining the aircraft’s documentation, the flight school’s records, and communications made while the plane was airborne. One line of inquiry is whether a mechanical problem involving the door or one of its safety systems played a role. Officials say the circumstances are so unusual that they cannot yet explain how the tragedy unfolded.
Earlier that day, Bertazzo had completed another training flight before taking off with the student.
The Daily Beast has contacted Argentina’s National Civil Aviation Administration for comment.
If you or a loved one is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing or texting 988.
