Nigerian girl, 15, flies plane in US

  1. Posted on Tuesday 21 July 2009 - 07:57
    KingsleyKobo
    Image of KingsleyKobo
    Kingsley Kobo, AfricaNews reporter in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
    A Nigerian teenager, Kimberly Anyadike, has become the youngest black female to ever fly from one end of the United States of America (USA) to the other in an aviation exercise called cross-country flight, according to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
    Nigeria girl pilot
    The 15-year-old, whose parents are Nigerians, broke the U.S. record and entered into record books on Saturday when she flew a single-engine Cessna plane from Compton Woodley Airport in Compton, California to Newport News, Virginia, making 13 stops along the way.

    Anyadike also became the youngest African American female pilot to complete the journey.

    She learnt to fly both an airplane and helicopter at age 12 at Tomorrow Aeronautical Museum in Compton, which offers aviation lessons in an after-school programme for disadvantaged youths. It was their plane she flew on her cross-country trip, news report said.

    The museum’s founder, Robert Petgrave, said Anyadike was the one who came up with the idea for the trip. But he had told her “it was going to be a daunting task. But she replied to me saying ‘I’ve got big shoulders. I can do it.’ And so we got it fixed up.”

    She was accompanied during the historic flight by an adult safety pilot and an 87-year-old Tuskegee Airman, Levi Thornhill. "Tuskegee Airmen" is the popular name given to a group of African American pilots who flew with distinction during World War II.

    About 50 Tuskegee Airmen autographed the young pilot’s plane after the journey. Anyadike said she wanted to inspire other kids to really believe in themselves.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  11. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  12. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  13. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  14. Algerians vote in parliamentary election10/05Polls have opened in Algeria for parliamentary elections which the authorities have billed as more free and transparent than ever before.
  15. Sierra Leone: Girl 13, dedicates life to…08/05Annette Sam, now 13 was diagnosed with a hole in the heart in 2006. His father a teacher by then could not afford funds to treat the young Annette.
News archive