Shocking moment disgruntled worker ‘deliberately crashes plane’ into warehouse he’d been fired from

A disgruntled former employee posted cryptic messages on WhatsApp before crashing a small plane into a warehouse where he used to work in Argentina.

A dramatic video shows Juan Manuel Medina, 46, flying a Cessna 152 directly into Air Liquide facilities in Rosario last Friday, where he died on the spot.

The plane crashed into a concrete pillar containing flammable gases, but miraculously it did not cause an explosion.

Medina was hired in July 2023 by Air Liquide, which supplies oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen to medical facilities. He was reportedly fired in March due to staff reductions, Canal 3 reported Monday.

A Cessna 150 was spotted crashing into the Rosario, Argentina facilities of Air Liquide, which supplies oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen to medical facilities. The plane was piloted by Juan Manuel Medina, who was fired from the company in March

At 9:39 a.m. Friday, he posted the iconic World War II photo showing a cloud forming over Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 9, 1945, after the United States dropped a bomb.

He also shared a selfie with the caption in Spanish: “To the big liars.”

Medina later visited the Rosario Aeroclub, of which he was an active member, and rented the aircraft which is used mainly for flight training and personal use.

He left around 11:30 a.m. and crashed into the warehouse around noon.

Medina had more than 500 flight hours and renewed his pilot’s license four months ago.

The newspaper Clarín reported that he had a first-class licence allowing him to fly aircraft weighing up to 20,000 kilos, but he was not allowed to fly over residential areas.

“Medina was a commercial pilot and an aerial applicator — a pilot dedicated to launching chemical products from an airplane,” a member of the Rosario Aeroclub told the outlet.

‘He had a lot of experience. He had his psychophysical certificate, renewed annually, valid until April 2025. He met all the rules of the club and ANAC (National Civil Aviation Administration).’

The flying club member recalls seeing Medina inspect the small plane before it took off.

“He is seen performing the pre-check (of the plane) in a normal way, loading fuel with another pilot from the club, and also checking the oil. And 20 minutes after take-off, the first videos appear on the networks,” they said.

Juan Manuel Medina posted a cryptic message on his WhatsApp status on Friday morning, sharing the iconic World War II photo of a cloud of smoke over Nagasaki, Japan, after the United States dropped an atomic bomb

Juan Manuel Medina rented the Cessna 150 from Rosario Aeroclub and was caught by one of the members while he was inspecting the small plane before it took off at 11:30 am and crashed half an hour later near the Air Liquide facilities

Juan Manuel Medina had a valid pilot’s license that was due to expire in April 2025

Jorge Martínez told television channel El Tres that he had worked as a flight instructor for Medina in the past and that he had never seen any warning signs.

“He flew with me in 2018, a short flight to adapt, and he asked me to come back in 2019. A very good pilot,” he said.

Mariel Ortega, the lead prosecutor in the investigation, told La Nación newspaper that Medina may have entered the warehouse deliberately.

Some witnesses told the newspaper that they saw Medina flying in circles around residential areas just before the attack.

A woman who was in a relationship with Medina a decade ago told television channel Telefe that she initially did not know he was behind the crash until one of her students shared the news.

“I knew he worked there and that he was a pilot, but I wasn’t sure how old he was,” Marisa said. “We stopped dating 10 years ago, he was a very unpredictable person.”