A flight instructor died on Saturday after jumping from a light aircraft during a training flight over the Argentine province of Córdoba, leaving a 22-year-old student to land the plane alone. The body of Leandro Andrés Bertazzo, 42, was found in a rural area near the town of Toledo, local authorities confirmed.

According to Eduardo Álvarez, director of the Flying Parrot flight school in Córdoba, who spoke to Argentine media, Bertazzo was at the controls of a Cessna C-150 with the student, who already held a pilot's licence but had limited flying hours. Álvarez said the student recounted that Bertazzo told her, "You know what to do," then removed his headset, put aside his mobile phone, and opened the aircraft door — a manoeuvre made difficult by air pressure — before jumping. The student alerted ground personnel and landed the aircraft without injury.

The case was initially examined by a provincial prosecutor in Río Segundo, but was later transferred to the federal prosecutor's office in Córdoba, where Carlos Gonella is leading the investigation. The aircraft remains under police guard while forensic and technical examinations are carried out. No official cause or manner of death has been determined. Álvarez told reporters that Bertazzo had recently consulted a psychiatrist, but that the school had not been informed of any psychological difficulties; the family, he said, was aware.

Bertazzo held an airline transport pilot licence issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration and had worked as a commercial pilot in Chile before becoming an instructor. Colleagues described him as professional and consistently good-humoured. The student's composure in landing the aircraft alone has been noted by aviation specialists. The federal investigation is ongoing, and authorities have not released any formal findings.