Pilot Who Died in Greenwood Plane Crash Was Purdue Graduate
Pilot Who Died in Greenwood Plane Crash Was Purdue Graduate Hoping to Inspire Future Aviators
GREENWOOD, Ind.–The female pilot who died in a Greenwood plane crash on Wednesday morning has been identified as Purdue University graduate Anh-Thu Nguyen.
Nguyen was on a journey to be the first Vietnamese woman to complete a solo flight around the world. She spoke about that journey on TikTok shortly before she took off from Indiana. Nguyen was on the second leg of her journey when she crashed.
Frank Williams witnessed the crash happen. He saw Nguyen’s 2005 Lancair IV-P spiraling in the sky.
“It was just a few seconds from the time she banked and went into a spin before she hit the ground,” said Williams. “As I got close to the plane, I could tell there wasn’t a survivor.”
Nguyen started Asian Women in Aerospace and Aviation Inc, a nonprofit 501 (c) (3) organization in 2018. She also became the Chief Flight Instructor at Dragon Flight Training Academy in Georgia.
Nguyen was born in Vietnam and came to the United States when she was 12. She got a Bachelor of Science in math and a master’s in aeronautics and astronautics engineering from Purdue University. She also received her doctoral degree in aeronatuics and aeronautics engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Nguyen was 44 years old. Her body will be examined on Thursday. The cause of the crash is being investigated by both the National Transportation and Safety Board as well as the Federal Aviation Administration.
