A Belgian-British girl, Zara Rutherford, has entered the record books becoming the youngest woman to fly alone around the world.
Zara Rutherford, 19, landed at Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport in Flanders, Belgium shortly after 1pm, completing a 52,000km journey to 31 countries on five continents.
"It's really crazy," he said. "I did not fully perceive it," he told reporters.
Zara said that she experienced "amazing moments", but also cases when she was afraid for her life.
"I would say the hardest part was flying over Siberia, because it was extremely cold. It was -35 degrees on the ground… If the engine had stopped then I was a few hours away from rescue and I do not know how long I could survive. ”
Rutherford's parents are pilots and started taking him on small planes when he was little. At the age of 14 she developed a desire to become a pilot and dreamed of traveling around the world. Returning to Belgium, she plans to study electrical engineering and hopes to become an astronaut.
The 19-year-old, who cites American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart and Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova as her inspirations, said she hoped the trip would encourage more girls to pursue science and engineering. Zara said she hoped "other girls would see me and think, 'I would love to fly one day too.'
