Nearly four months after the incident that shook Córdoba, Ethel and Carlos, Leandro Bertazzo’s parents, spoke about the months leading up to their son’s death. In an interview with Clarín, they recounted the difficult personal moment the 42-year-old pilot was enduring and said that he had received harassing messages via social media.
The event occurred on July 4, 2026, when Bertazzo was aboard an aircraft with a student he was instructing. During the flight, he asked her to continue at the controls and then threw himself from the plane. The news generated deep shock and raised questions about the circumstances the pilot was going through before the episode.
In dialogue with Clarín, his parents remembered the beginnings of his career in aviation and shared details of the last months of his life. They also spoke about the impact that a series of personal situations and messages he received online had on him.
The story of Leandro Bertazzo and his passion for aviation
Ethel and Carlos remembered that their son had felt from a young age a great passion for music, although he ultimately decided to dedicate himself to the world of aviation. To pay for his studies, he began by selling his guitars and also received a car from his grandfather, which allowed him to raise the money needed to train as a pilot.
His effort allowed him to obtain different licenses and reach a high level of professional preparation. “He had all the licenses, the highest level of English. He had passed the theoretical part of the EPT (English Proficiency Test) in the United States, and he had to go now to the practical part. He was a young man full of projects, of plans. In other words, neither he nor we could contain something like suicide,” his mother said.
One of his main goals was to join LATAM Airlines. In May 2026, he had begun a selection process in Chile which, according to his family, represented a very important opportunity for his professional future. However, he was discharged after about a month and returned to Córdoba.
That situation, along with a breakup after about two years of a relationship, contributed to the return to the family home. According to his parents, this period coincided with noticeable changes in his behavior and signs of distress.
The testimony of his parents about online harassment
During the interview, Ethel and Carlos explained that as weeks passed, they began to notice that their son was going through an increasingly difficult emotional moment. According to their account, they became aware of harassing messages he was receiving through social media.
“We began to realize that something was happening and that behind it there were certain people scheming against him. He was a reserved, kind, intelligent, respectful person, but he didn’t tell you things that perhaps bothered him or destroyed him,” they expressed.
Ethel maintained that those messages deeply affected Leandro and recalled some of the phrases he received. She also stated that her son began to express feelings of guilt, sadness and frustration.
“I kept him on the phone all day. One day he told me that he felt guilt, another day he told me that he felt like a burden, one day he said ‘I am ugly’ and I told him ‘You are beautiful’,” she recalled through tears.
The mother also shared a reflection on the impact those experiences had on her son’s life: “We know it was a setup, a group with great power when it comes to words, because words can lift you up, heal, help and also destroy you. And they destroyed him; they drove him to death.”
The last days of Leandro Bertazzo
According to Ethel and Carlos, during the final weeks of their son’s life the situation had become especially worrying. Bertazzo was receiving psychological support and had begun to experience panic attacks.
In light of that scenario, his parents decided to accompany him to a psychiatric clinic, where the possibility of hospitalization was evaluated. However, Leandro asked for 48 hours to organize some personal matters and bid farewell to his friends.
The family explained that the pilot had told them he would attend a meeting at the aero club. His father mentioned that he did not know his son would fly that day and that he had not piloted for about two months.
Before boarding the aircraft, Leandro exchanged some WhatsApp messages with Carlos. His father had asked him if everything was all right and he replied yes. Then, when Carlos wished him a good day, he received a heart. That was their last exchange.
The flight took place from the Flying Parrot Córdoba school, where Bertazzo worked as an instructor. During the journey, the episode that ended his life occurred.
How his parents are trying to keep his memory alive
From the loss, Ethel and Carlos found in shared memories a way to cope with their mourning. According to them, Leandro’s lifelong friends formed a group in which the family also participates. There, they exchange photographs, videos, anecdotes and memories linked to their great passions: aviation and music.
In the interview, Ethel also expressed the pain of losing a child and shared a phrase she uses to articulate her experience: “Leandro opened the door of the aircraft, but many hands pushed him.”
“He fell very quickly and we didn’t have enough time to help him, unfortunately,” she added.
With her testimony, the parents seek to tell who Leandro was beyond the episode that had public repercussions and to make visible the suffering he endured during the last months of his life.
