Zara Rutherford dodged giant clouds in Colombia, lightning flashes in Mexico, visa delays and even smog in India to become the youngest woman to circumnavigate the globe solo
A photo provided by the Museum of Flight shows Zara Rutherford after landing her small plane in Seattle in September 2021. Before reaching the city, she flew through wildfire smoke over Northern California. (Museum of Flight via The New York Times)
She could have started college. Instead, she spent five months flying more than 32,000 miles across five continents.
“My name is Zara Rutherford, a teenager,” she told the internet after leaving Belgium in August. “I’m attempting to fly solo around the world,” she said, aiming to be the youngest woman ever to do so.
Rutherford, 19, dodged giant clouds in Colombia and lightning flashes in Mexico. In Alaska, her tiny plane was grounded for weeks by bad weather and a visa delay.
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