HANOI — A pilot, who wanted to become the first Vietnamese-American to fly solo around the world, has died after her plane crashed in the US.

Ms Anh Thu Nguyen, 44, was killed instantly on the morning of July 30 in Greenwood, Indiana, according to the Johnson County Coroner’s Office.

Driven by her aspiration to become the first Vietnamese woman to complete a solo circumnavigation of the globe, Ms Nguyen was in the second leg of her ambitious journey.

Flight data from Flightaware shows the plane departed from Indy South Greenwood Airport at 10.45am local time on July 30 and was scheduled to land at an airport in Pennsylvania.

However, just minutes after takeoff, her Lancair IV-P aircraft suddenly spiraled downward and crashed. The wreckage was later discovered on a hillside behind a Circle K gas station on Main Street in Greenwood.

Frank Williams, a witness at the scene, described the crash as eerily silent.

He added: “There was no explosion, and there was no fire. I pulled right up, and I could smell fuel. As I got close to the plane, I could tell there wasn’t a survivor.”

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are currently investigating the crash to determine its cause.

Who was Anh Thu Nguyen?

Born in Vietnam, Ms Nguyen immigrated to the United States at the age of 12. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s in aerospace engineering from Purdue University, followed by a PhD in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech).

She was passionate about inspiring Asian women to enter the aviation cockpit.

“As an Asian woman, I faced many obstacles and challenges to get to where I am today, especially adapting to a new culture, language, and life in the United States. I wanted to give back and inspire the next generation,” she once shared with Purdue University.

In 2018, she founded the nonprofit organisation Asian Women in Aerospace and Aviation Inc., and later served as the chief flight instructor at Dragon Flight Training Academy in Georgia.

The idea of becoming the first Vietnamese woman to fly solo around the world took shape in 2019, but it wasn’t until July 27, 2025, that she officially launched the journey, flying from Oshkosh, Wisconsin to Indiana.

Before departing Greenwood Airport on the day of the tragedy, she posted an inspiring update on her social media:

“I just completed the first leg of my solo flight around the world. This is more than just a flight. It’s a mission to inspire the next generation of Asian female pilots and aerospace engineers and STEM professionals.”

The heartbreaking accident has left her followers in deep mourning. Comments under her videos on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads are filled with messages of condolence: “Rest in peace.” VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

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