Teen pilot reaches Costa Rica on round-the-world trip
Teen pilot reaches Costa Rica on round-the-world bid
Location: San Jose, Costa Rica
Date: September 7, 2021
Zara Rutherford is on a journey to break the world record
as the youngest woman to fly solo around the world
(SOUNDBITE) (English) PILOT, ZARA RUTHERFORD, SAYING:
"Flying into Costa Rica was amazing. It's a really beautiful country. It's a shame I can't stay longer, I wish I could. // On the long legs and especially over water, from Iceland to Greenland was about four hours, just over water and very low as well. And then you get quite lonely because there's no radio contact, there's nothing, there's nobody there. It's just you and the plane."
The 19-year-old pilot will aim to cover 31,689 miles
She hopes her journey will encourage other young women
(SOUNDBITE) (English) PILOT, ZARA RUTHERFORD, SAYING:
"I'm hoping that...so when I was younger one thing that discouraged me was not seeing other women flying, or not seeing other women in STEM, that's Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. So I'm hoping by...what I can do is answering their questions, being there and having them see me fly. They can think that there's a girl flying and that I can do that too. That's what I'm trying to achieve."
