Pioneering Aviator Dies in Second Solo World Attempt

Anh-Thu Nguyen, a 44-year-old Vietnamese-born pilot and aviation advocate from South Florida, died in a plane crash near Greenwood, Indiana, while attempting her second solo flight around the world. Nguyen had previously completed a solo circumnavigation in 2024, becoming the tenth woman and the first Vietnamese woman to do so. She took off from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and crashed shortly after departing Indiana en route to Pennsylvania. Witnesses reported her plane made unusual maneuvers before crashing into a grassy area behind a gas station, with no injuries on the ground. Nguyen was a Purdue and Georgia Tech graduate, chief instructor at Dragon Flight Training Academy, and founder of Asian Women in Aerospace and Aviation. The NTSB and FAA are investigating the accident, looking into weather, pilot qualifications, and aircraft maintenance.