Dad of instructor who jumped from cockpit to his death leaving student shares detail that may explain why
More has come to light regarding the possible motive of the flight instructor who left his student pilot to land her plane after he allegedly 'jumped' from the craft.
Leandro Bertazzo, 42, was found dead in a field in Toledo, in the province of Cordoba, Argentina on Saturday 4 July.
The former commercial pilot and instructor had been teaching a 22-year-old student in a small Cessna C-150 when he was said to have been ejected from the plane, the Attorney General Carlos Gonella’s office announced.
This left the student, who reportedly had a pilot license but only hours of flight time recorded, to land the plane on her own.
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However, whether he left the plane willingly or due to a fault of the craft was what the investigation aimed to find out.
Now, Bertazzo’s father has given more information that may shed light on the situation and answer those vital questions.
The provincial prosecutor of Río Segundo, Patricia Baulies, is investigating whether the Flying Parrot Córdoba school worker died by suicide, and whilst his colleagues didn’t notice anything different about Bertazzo, his father has some key information.
According to the director of the company, Eduardo Álvarez, revealed that when Bertazzo’s parents were told of the news, his father said their son was going through a ‘bad time’ and had made a consultation at a psychiatric clinic just days before.
He added that none of his colleagues had known about any mental health problems and his spirits were up like ‘always’ on the day in question.
"That day, we had seen Leandro like any other,” Álvarez told LA NACION. “He arrived with joy, kissing as always.
"The only thing that caught the attention was that, instead of coming with his car as usual, he had asked a student to pick him up at the house where he lived with his parents in a neighborhood of the city of Córdoba. They came talking as well as possible.”
Bertazzo completed a flight with a colleague completing refresher training before his ill-fated flight with the 22-year-old student.
"We did not perceive any anomaly, nothing that could lead to this ending," Álvarez said, admitting that in light of what happened ‘we are all shocked’.
Alvarez also told Argentinian media, of the conversation allegedly had between Bertazzo and the student before he left the plane.
He said: “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.”
“She sent a message informing about the situation and proceeded to return to the runway to land,” he added.
"She was very shaken, but with complete professionalism she flew the plane to the airfield and made a perfect landing."
Topics: World News
Britt Jones