16-Year-Old Becomes Youngest Black Pilot to Fly Across Country

On July 18, 16-year-old Isaiah Cooper made history by becoming the youngest black pilot to fly around the country.

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His journey was 8,000 miles, starting in California, then on to Washington state, Maine and Florida, before heading back to the California city of Compton, according to the Huffington Post.

And this is just the beginning for Isaiah. On his GoFundMe page, he writes, “This epic journey gave me the experience necessary to achieve my ultimate goal to be the youngest person to fly solo around the world at age 18.”

The Post notes that despite his success, it wasn’t an easy journey for him, and he almost gave up within the first couple of days. He called his flight instructor, Robin Petgrave, wanting to quit. He had experienced bad weather while flying through Wyoming and was forced to land and switch planes because of damage.

However, he completed the journey. On his GoFundMe, the inspiring teen writes that his main goal is “to become a productive young man with a future in aviation, and not a statistic.”

Read more at Isaiah’s GoFundMe page and the Huffington Post.