Student pilot lands safely after instructor jumps out of plane mid-flight

A 22-year-old student pilot landed safely in Argentina after her instructor died mid-flight after jumping from the aircraft, according to multiple reports. The incident occurred Saturday, when the student and the instructor, 42-year-old Leandro Andrés Bertazzo, were flying at about 850 feet altitude. Bertazzo told the student, “You know what you have to do,” then removed his headphones, unfastened his seatbelt, opened the plane door, and fell out of the Cessna. The student reportedly contacted air traffic control and then brought the plane in for a landing without damage. While she held a pilot’s license, she needed an instructor to complete required flight hours. Reports say Bertazzo had consulted a psychiatric institution days before his death. Argentine prosecutors are investigating the incident, and Bertazzo’s body was found later that day.