A flight instructor conducting a training flight with a student in a small plane left the aircraft mid-flight and jumped to his death, leaving the trainee to land the Cessna on her own.
CNN reported that instructor Leandro Andrés Bertazzo jumped from the aircraft on Saturday while it was flying over Toledo, Argentina.
The student told officials that Bertazzo told her, “You know what you have to do, carry on.” He then removed his headset, unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and jumped.
The director of the flight school told TN, the local news outlet, that Bertazzo had shown no signs he was planning to jump from the plane and that he had flown earlier with another student.
The student, identified as Rosario, was in “complete shock” but was able to land the plane safely. She already had a private pilot’s license, TN reported, but had to fly with an instructor or safety pilot. She initially thought her instructor had a parachute on when he left the plane.
The site where Bertazzo came down was found about 15 to 20 minutes after he had jumped, TN reported.
The Federal Court of Córdoba is investigating the circumstances that led to his jumping from the plane.
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