Teen makes record-breaking solo flight around the world | DW News

DW News published this video item, entitled “Teen makes record-breaking solo flight around the world | DW News” – below is their description.

Women account for just 5% of commercial airline pilots and are consistently underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. One Belgian-British teenager has made it her mission to try and change that, and she’s come up with a pretty novel method: spreading the word by flying around the world, bagging a couple of world records while she’s at it.

There was no cabin crew on board to prepare for this landing.

As 19-year-old Zara Rutherford touched down in Belgium, she became the youngest woman in history to fly solo around the world and the youngest person to do so in a microlight aircraft.

A hero’s welcome awaited her.

Rutherford’s round-the-world ride spanned five continents and covered 52,000 kilometers.

She raised money through sponsorship and often stayed with host families.

She shared the highs and lows of her adventure online.

It took much longer than planned — and there were moments of turbulence.

Beyond breaking records, Zara had a bigger mission.

Meeting locals and giving talks along the way, she tried to inspire other girls and young women to get involved in aviation, science and technology.

Back on Belgian soil, that work continues.

Barely out of high school, Zara Rutherford plans to keep her feet on solid ground for now and apply for university. But, she hopes her double world record will encourage girls everywhere to spread their wings in any way they can.

DW News YouTube Channel

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In This Story: Belgium

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Western Europe. It is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest.

It covers an area of 30,689 km2 (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of 376 per square kilometre (970/sq mi). The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.

Legally, Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional and linguistic grounds. It is divided into three highly autonomous regions: the Flemish Region in the north, Wallonia in the south, and the Brussels-Capital Region.

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