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Student pilot, 22, is forced to land her plane alone after instructor leaps to his death from cockpit mid-flight in Argentina
Daily Mail UK ^ | July 08, 2026 | SOPHIA STANFORD, NEWS REPORTER

Posted on 07/08/2026 9:07:02 AM PDT by Red Badger

A student pilot was forced to land her plane alone after her instructor 'jumped' from the aircraft during their flight in Argentina.

The 22-year-old had been training with her instructor, Leandro Bertazzo, 42, in a Cessna C-150 when he evacuated the aircraft.

Although investigators are looking into the reasons behind his sudden death, the student, who is believed to have a pilot's licence but few flying hours under her belt, has claimed he opened the plane's window and jumped.

Despite watching Mr Bertazzo plunge to his death, she still managed to land the Cessna C-150 safely and unaided at Coronel Olmedo Airport, where they took off, and alerted authorities to the emergency situation.

Mr Bertazzo, who described himself online as a former commercial pilot in Chile, was then found dead 20 minutes later in a field in the area the woman marked out as the place he could have fallen.

Eduardo Alvarez, director of flight school Flying Parrot Cordoba where Leandro had worked as an instructor for four years, recounted his conversation with the young student who said he 'jumped'.

He told Argentinian media: 'At one point Leandro told her, "You know what to do, keep moving forward."

'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.

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.com ...


TOPICS: Health/Medicine; Military/Veterans; Travel; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: aviation
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To: GreenHornet

She will never get over macho grande.


21 posted on 07/08/2026 9:31:50 AM PDT by Texas resident ( We finally have an American President again)
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To: GreenHornet

22 posted on 07/08/2026 9:33:55 AM PDT by Magnum44 (...against all enemies, foreign and domestic... )
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To: Red Badger
A C-150 has a door on each side. No "windows" big enough for a human to exit. Honestly, it isn't that hard to open them in flight. My instructor taught me how to use the doors to steer the aircraft by giving a gentle push open to generate drag to "yaw" the plane generating a slight roll. Kudos to the student pilot for a successful landing.
23 posted on 07/08/2026 9:35:37 AM PDT by Myrddin
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To: Joe Boucher
window not big enough to jump out

Yup. I guess you could open the door if you wanted to badly enough. The problem with that method of suicide is changing your mind halfway down.

24 posted on 07/08/2026 9:35:42 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: Texas Eagle

Yep....it ain’t the fall, it’s that sudden stop.

Kinda like flying itself....I have no fear of flying.....crashing however....

And having been in aviation maintenance for almost 40 years ain’t helping! Lol!


25 posted on 07/08/2026 9:37:48 AM PDT by V_TWIN (America....so great even the people that hate it won't leave!)
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To: Red Badger
The 22-year-old had been training with her instructor, Leandro Bertazzo, 42, in a Cessna C-150 when he evacuated the aircraft.

I bet she evacuated her pants.

26 posted on 07/08/2026 9:37:49 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd (Import the third world. Become the second world.)
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To: Red Badger

He apparently could not wait to get off that plane.


27 posted on 07/08/2026 9:37:55 AM PDT by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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To: Myrddin

A door is just a flap in a different location............


28 posted on 07/08/2026 9:38:59 AM PDT by Red Badger (Iryna Zarutska, May 22, 2002 Kyiv, Ukraine – August 22, 2025 Charlotte, North Carolina Say her name)
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To: Gen.Blather
Ya’ know, I was on a blind date where I wanted to do that.

You shouldn't have removed the blindfold.

29 posted on 07/08/2026 9:39:05 AM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
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To: CivilWarBrewing

The latter, the door. As with most airplanes, the window on the Cessna 150 does not even open.


30 posted on 07/08/2026 9:40:08 AM PDT by Rockingham
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To: Red Badger

“A student pilot was forced to land her plane alone after her instructor ‘jumped’ from the aircraft during their flight in Argentina.” Was it something she said?


31 posted on 07/08/2026 9:40:35 AM PDT by kawhill (Dywedwch Wrthbym because + Add translation Welsh-English dictionary 'Tell Us')
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To: Red Badger

She had cabbage for lunch?


32 posted on 07/08/2026 9:40:36 AM PDT by albie
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To: Red Badger

probably one of the most memorable first solos ever.


33 posted on 07/08/2026 9:42:29 AM PDT by rdcbn1 (..when poets buy guns, tourist season is over................Walter R. Mead)
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To: Zathras

We can’t Be Bitter...


34 posted on 07/08/2026 9:47:16 AM PDT by Big Red Badger (Good SCIENCE is Not Faith BUT Curiosity. )
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To: Red Badger

She got ghosted...


35 posted on 07/08/2026 9:54:28 AM PDT by Paladin2
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I think there’s too much focus on “door” or “window”.

It’s just typical of the sloppy writing today and the near complete absence of editors.


36 posted on 07/08/2026 9:59:40 AM PDT by sjmjax
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To: Red Badger
Surprise solo test. Good Luuu.....
37 posted on 07/08/2026 10:02:58 AM PDT by TangoLimaSierra (⭐⭐To the Left, the Truth is Right Wing Violence⭐⭐)
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To: Red Badger
My bet is on this line in the article:

Local reports said Leandro had received neuropsychiatric treatment, although only close relatives were apparently aware before Saturday's tragedy.

38 posted on 07/08/2026 10:03:50 AM PDT by Tell It Right (1 Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: albie

(to the tune of Seals & Croft “Summer Breeze”)
🎶
See the freshness that comes with each bottle
Near the tampons® on a drugstore shelf
A little salt solution with a nozzle
Perfect if you need to cleanse yourself🎵

Summer’s Eve®, douches work fine, fresh’ning up the best of woman kind
Summer’s Eve®, douches work fine, fresh’ning up the best of woman kind. 🎶
delet this


39 posted on 07/08/2026 10:04:34 AM PDT by tumblindice (America's founding fathers: all armed conservatives)
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To: Red Badger

My first thought: “What an asshole!”


40 posted on 07/08/2026 10:07:23 AM PDT by old school
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