Flying solo, 19-year-old woman takes off on round-the-world record bid

BRUSSELS: Pilot Zara Rutherford, 19, took off on Wednesday at the start of a three-month bid to become the youngest woman to fly solo round the world.

Rutherford departed from Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport in western Belgium in her Shark ultralight, the world's fastest microlight aircraft. The British-Belgian flyer hopes her voyage will encourage more girls and women to study and work in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), and spark girls' interest in aviation.