蜜芽传媒

A teenage pilot from the UK has become the youngest woman to fly solo around the world following a five-month challenge. Zara Rutherford, 19, landed in Kortrijk-Wevelgem in Belgium, two months later than planned as a result of adverse weather. During the trip of 32,000 miles (51,000 km), she spent a month stuck in Nome, Alaska, and 41 days in Russia.

She said, "I'd always dreamt of flying round the world but thought it would be too complicated, too expensive, too dangerous", and that she was lucky to have two parents who were pilots. She found sponsorship once she'd finished schoool, and then set off. She said her mum was a bit worried, but her dad was "really excited about the idea". She describes the complexities of flying in a microlite aircraft, which cannot fly through clouds or at night, especially when she was flying through Greenland and Alaska, and the challenge of flying in low temperatures over Siberia.

Photo: Zara Rutherford lands in Belgium Credit: Beatrice de Smet / Flyzolo