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this post was submitted on 09 Jul 2026
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During the flight, Bertazzo allegedly told Rosario, “You know what to do” before removing his headset, arranging his belongings, taking off his seatbelt and exiting the aircraft.
Importantly, the article also says she was trained, but still needed some hours with an instructor or pilot before being allowed to fly solo. He must have decided his other student that day wasn't ready but felt she'd be safe without him. Better than some suicidal pilots who have crashed the whole plane.
Landings are pretty much your first focus after basic air work, and you can solo in 15-20 hours typically. A full license is around 80 hours (at least here in Canada), and she had a ppl already.
When i soloed my instructor was kind enough to get out of the plane while we were on the ground. What a horrible experience for this student.
Instructor: (Encouragingly) "If you can handle this, Rosario, it'll all get easier from here on out. The most stressful moments are when you're just learning."
Student: "Thanks, but I'm sure that..."
Instructor: dives out plane door
Student: ...
Student:
Dude may have been having a rough time, but definitely knew his students.
I mean, if I were an immortal, I would get a job as a flight instructor just to pull this prank.
"Um, could you just fly over the airport for a minute? Great. Alright, see you later, maybe." And proceeds to step out of the plane so she can have her oh shit moment and he'll still be there to congratulate her when she lands.
Is this a common occurrence?
It isn’t what I would call “common”, but it happens: Suicide by aircraft
Most of those are the pilot crashing alone, but there have been some high-profile crashes of commercial flights that have either been confirmed or are strongly suspected to have been intentional, like EgyptAir 990, Germanwings 9525, and SilkAir 185. The mysteriously missing MH370 was also likely an intentional act.
I wouldn't call it common but there's been enough for a Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_by_aircraft
That's kinda strange. The process I'm familiar with, you get your student pilot license during training, then you get an endorsement from your instructor to solo. After you've had sufficient instructional and solo time, you take your practical test / check ride, and get your private license.
Maybe this was a requirement of the flight school rather than a licensing requirement? Maybe she got her private license in gliders or balloons, and wasn't yet qualified to solo a powered aircraft?
Journalists know jack shit about aviation, chances are she was able to fly solo, but was working with an instructor to move towards a CPL. I did plenty of time with an instructor after getting my PPL.
I suspect you're right. I'm in that process myself, but with balloons.
could be getting an instrument rating or checked out on an unfamiliar aircraft.
She had a private licence, so she was more than capable of flying solo.
Did you actually read the article?
She was required to specifically not fly solo due to her inexperience. Source: the article
Having a private license does not imply she was qualified to solo the aircraft she was in. If her private license was for hot air balloons or gliders, for example, her private license alone would not qualify her to solo a powered aircraft. Assuming Argentina's process is comparable to the US process, she would need a solo endorsement from a qualified instructor in her logbook before she would be considered capable of flying solo.
It's a Cessna, a child could fly one.
And it's probably the type she got her license in.
Agreed, but the article did expressly point out that she was required to have an instructor or a safety pilot, and that she was not actually qualified to solo in that aircraft.
I have a private license. I am certainly not "more than capable of flying solo" in a Cessna 150: I am rated to fly hot air balloons. I am reasonably confident I could get a Cessna 150 on the ground safely, but that confidence alone does not make me "more than capable" of doing so.
Based on the claims in the article, that is very unlikely. If she got her private license in it, she would be qualified to solo. But they explicitly claimed that she was not. It is likely that she is qualified in some other single-engine fixed-wing aircraft and just needs to be checked out in the 150. But the article does not specify, and we should not assume.
If Argentina's licensing structure mirrors the US, she might have a private license in "weight-shift-control aircraft". She might be qualified to hang glide with a passenger, but that license would not make her "more than capable" of soloing in a 150.