Source: CTV News, March 31, 2016
Huang Meihua lost her legs when her school collapsed in China’s Sichuan earthquake eight years ago, but she never lost her dream to pilot an airplane.
And on Thursday, that dream came true.
At a flight school in Metro Vancouver, Meihua, 19, piloted a pontoon plane with the help of flight instructor Tom Drybrough.
“I always dreamed of flying a plane, but it seemed kind of impossible,” Huang told CTV Vancouver.
Meihua was first inspired to fly a plane by the rescue helicopter that saved her from the earthquake.
But it took some help from her high school principal in China to bring the dream to fruition. He contacted a number of flight schools, until the Imperial Canadian Flight School agreed to get her up in the air.
“They invited her over to Canada to experience flight training,” said Drybrough.
After three weeks, Meihua’s final lesson was on Thursday.
Drybrough helped her with the pedals, but she handled the rest of the controls.
“She’s a very hard worker, she’s a fast learner, she has a passion for anything she gets involved in and it’s nice to see her do well and enjoy herself,” said Drybrough.
Meihua also made a textbook landing. And while she was glad to have completed her training, she didn’t want the experience to end.
“(It was) really exciting, but a little bit sad because it’s my last time here,” she said.
Meihua hopes that with the help of prosthetics, one day she’ll be able to get her pilot’s licence.