19 Year Old Zara Rutherford Became the Youngest Woman to Fly Solo Around the World

 

On August 18, 2021, Zara Rutherford departed Kortrijk, Belgium in a Shark UL plane. In this two-seat ultralight plane equipped with extra fuel tanks, two radios and a parachute, Rutherford flew 28,000 nautical miles of five continents and became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, at age 19.

During this 155-day flight, she landed in 41 countries and broke the record previously set by American pilot Shaesta Waiz, who had achieved it in 2017 at the age of 30.

Rutherford landed at the same airport from which she began the trip, in Kortrijk, Belgium, on January 20, 2022.