Teen pilot to land in Taiwan on next leg of record-breaking flight

A 19-year-old pilot is scheduled to land at Taipei Songshan Airport, Tuesday, on the next leg of her quest to break several aviation records, including youngest female to fly solo around the world.

Zara Rutherford departed from Belgium, August 18, on the planned 51,000-kilometer journey spanning five continents and 52 countries.

Today, Saturday, December 12, Rutherford landed her Shark Aero ultralight airplane at Gimpo Airport in South Korea, marking the beginning of the Asian leg of her round-the-world quest.

After originally planning to complete her feat by Christmas, Rutherford was held up in Alaska due to visa hassles and the weather, and again in Russia with the same issues.

“It has been challenging,” Rutherford told reporters at Gimpo Airport.

According to the current schedule, Rutherford will depart Muan International Airport, South Korea, December 14, and will land at Songshan Airport at 5:00 pm. From Taipei, Rutherford will fly to Clark International Airport in the Philippines.

A successful completion of the journey would not only see Rutherford breaking the record for youngest female to fly around the world solo, but she would also be the first woman to circumnavigate the world in an ultralight, and the first Belgian to circumnavigate the world in a single-engine aircraft.

Zara Rutherford, who holds dual British-Belgian citizenship, and has just completed her A-Levels in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Economics, and Physics, says that her mission is “to inspire women and girls to pursue whatever they may be interested in, even if that is seen as traditionally male.”

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