A pilot jumped out of the door of a moving plane and died, leaving the student he was teaching to fly to land the plane herself.
Flight instructor Leandro Andres Bertazzo, 42, was found dead after the incident in Toledo, central Argentina, on Saturday, according to a statement from the country’s prosecutor released Tuesday.
Bertazzo was aboard the Cessna 150 plane with a 22-year-old student named Rosario, CNN affiliate TN reported.
The student said Bertazzo told her, “You know what you need to do, keep going,” before removing his headset and seat belt, opening the door and jumping out of the plane, TN reported.
Eduardo Alvarez, director of the Flying Parrot flight school in Cordoba where Bertazzo worked, told TN there was no indication the pilot planned to throw himself from the plane.
Bertazzo had taken off with another student earlier that day, Alvarez said.
“He made this tragic decision on board an airplane with another person next to him,” he said. “It’s impossible to think about it or understand it, but the human mind is so complex.”
Bertazzo was “a beautiful man with a great smile,” Alvarez said. “We’re surprised this happened.”
Opening an airplane door in the air is extremely difficult, Alvarez explained, comparing it to trying to open the door of a car traveling at 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph).
Student Rosario managed to land the plane safely despite being “in complete shock,” he added. The plane was not damaged, Alvarez said.
Bertazzo had extensive experience and also worked as a flight instructor in neighboring Chile, TN reported.
Prosecutors will now investigate the exact details of the incident that led to Bertazzo’s death.