A teenager from Belgium has become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world. Zara Rutherford landed in Kortrijk-Wevelgem in Belgium after her five-month trip, which involved more than 60 stops across five continents.
The 19-year-old pilot began her journey on Aug. 18. Her arrival was two months later than initially planned because of bad weather. Rutherford said bad weather had forced her to become stuck for a month in Alaska and 41 days in Russia.
Rutherford landed in Belgium accompanied by four airplanes from the Belgian Red Devils aerial acrobatics team. She was then greeted on the ground by her family, fans, and reporters.
The young pilot flew on a Shark Ultralight sports aircraft and traveled more than 32,000 miles (51,000 kilometers). Rutherford told reporters that the hardest part of her journey was when she was flying through Siberia.
She said that the flight across Siberia was extremely cold, and she was afraid that if her engine stalled, it would take hours before anyone could come to her rescue. Rutherford said the temperatures dropped to as low as -35 degrees Celcius on the ground and -20 degrees Celcius in the air.
Despite the challenges, Rutherford said she was "glad" that she took on the extreme challenge. She said she is looking forward to sharing her story and experience, which hopefully would encourage other people to "go for it."
The British-Belgian flyer, whose parents are also pilots, expressed her desire to encourage other young women to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Sponsors for the challenge included her previous school in Hampshire, as well as Shark, the Slovakian manufacturer of the Shark UL aircraft.
Rutherford had managed to beat the previous record for the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, which was held by a then 30-year-old American pilot, Shaesta Waiz, in 2017. The current record for the youngest person to fly solo around the world is held by 18-year-old British pilot Travis Ludlow, who took on the challenge last year.
Apart from holding the record as the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, Rutherford also now holds the record for being the first woman to circumnavigate the world aboard a microlight aircraft.
Rutherford previously expected the trip to take only three months. However, bad weather had derailed her plans. After she became stuck in Russia due to bad weather, her Russian visa expired, and she had to wait for it to be renewed. Other setbacks that delayed her arrival included a flat tire in Singapore, a malfunctioning instrument panel, and problems with her papers in Indonesia.
