Zara Rutherford, a teen pilot, became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world recently after landing in western Belgium 5 months after taking off. Rutherford defeats American aviator Shaesta Waiz, who was 30 at the time, who established the previous record in 2017 by circumnavigating the world in a microlight aircraft.

Zara’s 32,000-mile journey was beset by obstacles, including weather delays and expired travel documents, extending what was expected to be a 3-month journey took nearly six months. During her journey, she encountered everything from floods, wildfires, and typhoons to flat tyres and broken plane parts, and she was stuck in Russia for a month.