Seven-year-old Jessica Dubroff, who was attempting to become the youngest person to fly a light aircraft across the United States, died along with her father and flight instructor when their plane crashed in Wyoming on April 11, 1996. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) later concluded that poor weather and the instructor's bad judgment caused the accident.
A childhood outside the mainstream
Jessica was born in Massachusetts in 1988 to parents who preferred to live outside the mainstream. Delivered in a birthing pool without a doctor or midwife present, she moved to California at age four after her parents split, though they remained close. She grew up in a house without a television alongside her mother, Lisa Blair Hathaway, an artist and spiritual healer, and her older brother Joshua and younger sister Jasmine.
The Dubroff children were raised differently from most. They did not play with toys or read children's books. Instead, they were given tools and household chores from an early age. By age seven, Jessica delivered newspapers on her bicycle, helped neighbours weed gardens, and donated half of her monthly allowance to charity. Neighbours remembered her as a loving, happy and helpful girl.
She had no classmates, as her parents did not allow her or her siblings to attend local elementary school, nor did they follow a formal homeschooling curriculum. Her mother later explained: "They're getting a tremendous education from having their lives be in the real world. What it takes to get this flight scheduled and done is much better than sitting in a math classroom."
The record attempt that drew national attention
Jessica's passion for aviation began after an airplane ride for her sixth birthday. Soon after, her father, business consultant Lloyd Dubroff, paid $50 an hour for twice-weekly flying lessons with instructor Joe Reid. Lloyd then conceived an ambitious plan: Jessica would attempt to become the youngest person to fly a light aircraft across America.
The plan quickly attracted national media. Lloyd told television reporters: "I asked her if that was something she'd like to do. I said I would fund it if she wanted to do that, and she said she really would. I think the main thing is that she's going to meet a lot of new people who think differently than we think here in California, who have different value systems and look at the world differently. I think that's really going to expand her horizons."
Lloyd coined the slogan "Sea to Shining Sea" and produced baseball caps and T-shirts with the motto. The planned 6,900-mile coast-to-coast trip in Reid's Cessna 177B Cardinal was expected to take around eight days, with stops in Florida, Texas and Arizona. Standing just over 4ft tall, Jessica used a booster seat to see over the instrument panel.
Before departure, Jessica gave television interviews in a leather bomber jacket and red baseball cap embroidered with "Women Fly". Much of the media described her as the 'world's youngest pilot', though she was not legally able to be a pilot due to her age. The Guinness Book of World Records had discontinued its "Youngest Pilot" categories in 1989 over concerns that they encouraged dangerous attempts by children.
The final flight
The journey began on April 10, 1996. Travelling with Jessica were her father and Reid, who had given her approximately 35 hours of flight instruction. The aircraft had dual controls, allowing Reid to take over when necessary. As well-wishers gathered behind bunting holding signs reading 'Good Luck Jessica', a reporter asked if she ever got scared up there. "No," Jessica replied simply.
Before take-off, Lloyd told reporters: "She's really quite good. She handles the plane very smoothly. She thinks ahead. Very early, when I saw her taking lessons, there was no question she was in charge of the aircraft. She's seven. Her mind wanders… but all in all she's really coming along as a pilot."
The first day's flying was hampered by poor weather, with a thunderstorm bringing rain and winds up to 30mph. On the second day, shortly after taking off from Cheyenne, Wyoming, the aircraft encountered severe weather. As Reid attempted to turn back to the airport, the plane stalled in midair and plunged almost vertically into the ground, killing all three instantly.
Aftermath and investigation
Following her death, earlier comments took on new significance. In Cheyenne, Lloyd had told journalists: "This started off as a father-daughter adventure, and it's gotten wonderfully out of hand." Jessica herself had told The New York Times: "I'm going to fly till I die."
At her funeral, Jessica's small white coffin was decorated with flowers and a blue airplane. She and her father were buried side by side in a California cemetery, their shared headstone engraved with an aircraft. The following year, federal safety investigators concluded that poor weather and the instructor's bad judgment were to blame. The NTSB said in Washington that pressure to keep to a schedule on the highly publicised attempt may have contributed to the decision.
At the crash site, mourners left flowers, balloons and gifts. When Jessica's mother visited, a young boy offered her a teddy bear, but Lisa gently declined, explaining that her children did not play with toys. She later told the Associated Press: "I beg people to let children fly if they want to fly. Clearly I would want all my children to die in a state of joy. I mean, what more could I ask for? I would prefer it was not at age seven but, God, she went with her joy and her passion, and her life was in her hands."
