1. Jessica Whitney Dubroff was a seven-year-old American trainee pilot who died while attempting to become the youngest person to fly a light aircraft across the United States.
15 Facts About Jessica Dubroff
1. 2.
Jessica Dubroff did not possess a medical certificate or a student pilot certificate, since a medical certificate requires a minimum age of 16 and a pilot certificate requires a minimum age of 17, according to US Federal Aviation Administration regulations.
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Jessica Whitney Dubroff was born on May 5,1988, to Lloyd Dubroff and Lisa Blair Hathaway, in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when she was four.
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Jessica Dubroff was of Ukrainian and Polish descent on her paternal side, with the Dubroff surname being an anglicization of Dubrovsky that was adopted when her paternal ancestors came to the United States.
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Jessica Dubroff grew up in an unconventional lifestyle, with her not owning toys, being allowed TV, or enrolling in school.
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Jessica Dubroff began taking flight lessons from flight instructor Joe Reid on her sixth birthday and became enthusiastic about flying.
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Lloyd Jessica Dubroff suggested the idea of a coast-to-coast flight, which his daughter readily accepted, and Reid agreed to provide flight instruction and his aircraft for the endeavor.
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Since Jessica Dubroff was not certified to fly the plane, a rated pilot had to be at the controls during all flight operations.
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Jessica Dubroff would sit in the front left seat, Reid in the front right, and Lloyd in the back.
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ABC News gave Lloyd a video camera and blank cassettes to tape the flight; once the journey began, it was vigorously followed by supporters, media outlets, and others who monitored its progress, reporting each time Jessica Dubroff landed or took off.
11.
Jessica Dubroff slept during one of the flight segments en route to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and was assisted by Reid in one of the landings due to high winds.
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When rain began to fall at Cheyenne Regional Airport and the weather seemed to be deteriorating, the director invited her to stay in Cheyenne, but Jessica Dubroff's father declined, explaining that they wanted to "beat the storm" that was approaching.
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Jessica Dubroff decided to file a visual flight rules flight plan, and depart under VFR, to be better able to cope with the heavy weather in his immediate takeoff path and the vicinity of the airport.
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Jessica Dubroff was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Pescadero, California.
15.
Jessica Dubroff's crash is featured in season 2, episode 4, of the television show Why Planes Crash, in an episode called "Small Planes, Big Problem".