Afghan American pilot completes around the world solo flight
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WASHINGTON - A 29-year-old Afghan-American female pilot, Shaesta Waiz, has successfully completed her around-the-world solo flight.
Waiz started her journey in July in Florida in the United States and landed back there this week.
Her flight took her 138 days and she crossed 22 countries.
During her trip, she met with many female pilots in various countries and also made a fleeting visit to Kabul.
Waiz was not able to fly into Kabul as her plane was not suited to flying in mountainous areas.
However on arrival in Dubai Waiz boarded a commercial flight to Kabul where she received a warm welcome from Kabul residents.
According to Waiz, her trip had been planned for four years and the aim of her solo flight was to promote the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education – especially to girls.
Born in a refugee camp in Afghanistan at the end of the Soviet war, Waiz emigrated to the U.S with her family in 1987.
Waiz became the first certified civilian female pilot from Afghanistan and the first person in her family to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree — both from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Waiz is now the youngest woman in history who has been able to travel around the globe alone in a single-engine aircraft.
