Pilot Attempting Around-the-World Flight Hits Halfway Point

Michael Wildes

Wednesday, November 03, 2021 at 09:17 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

Key Takeaways:

Zara Rutherford, 19, has reached Russia, marking the halfway point of her solo quest to become the youngest woman to fly around the world.
Her journey faced a nearly month-long delay in Nome, Alaska, due to weather and an expired Russian visa, pushing her 77 days into a trip originally planned for 45.
Flying a Shark Aero microlight, Rutherford has crossed the international date line and plans 30 more stops through Asia and Europe before arriving in Belgium in early December.
If successful, she will set new records as the youngest woman to complete the circumnavigation, the first woman to do so in a microlight, and the first Belgian in a single-engine aircraft.

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After being grounded in the gold-rushed city of Nome, Alaska, for nearly a month, Zara Rutherford (FlyZolo), the 19-year-old Belgian who is on a quest to become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world, has made it to Russia, reaching the halfway point of her trip.

In a short video posted on social media Monday, Rutherford’s frosty breath illustrated the biting 24-below-zero temperature that greeted her in the city of Anadyr after her safe passage across the Bering Strait.