Jessica Dubroff
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Jessica Dubroff (May 5, 1988 - April 11, 1996) was a seven year old pilot who was attempting to become the youngest person to fly a plane across the United States when 24 hours into her flight, her small plane crashed after take-off from Cheyenne, Wyoming.
During her flight, which included several stop overs, Dubroff became an instant media celebrity whether she wanted that or not. Her flight was vigorously followed by many well-wishers. Media outlets such as CNN, ABC, FOX and others followed her flight steps every day for the duration of her trip, reporting each time she landed or took off, until the tragic ending of her "Sea to Shining Sea Flight".
Dubroff took off from Cheyenne in heavy rain and a sudden storm. These weather conditions caused the plane to crash outside of Cheyenne. Jessica Dubroff, along with here father Lloyd Dubroff and her flight instructor Joe Reid, were killed in the crash.
Several rumors of Dubroff living a questionable family life came out after her death, concentrating on the fact that the Dubroff children were self-educated and rarely seen at any typically "kid" social activities. No evidence to support these rumors have ever surfaced, however.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigation [1] (http://www.avweb.com/news/safety/183036-1.html) concluded that pilot Joe Reid had made an improper decision to take off into deteriorating weather conditions when the airplane was overweight and when the density altitude was higher than he was accustomed to, resulting in a stall caused by failure to maintain airspeed. Contributing to the pilot in command's decision to take off was a desire to adhere to an overly ambitious itinerary, in part, because of media commitments.
A book about her life has been published by her mother, Lisa Blair Hathaway.