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- Woman who died in Indiana plane crash was trying to fly solo around the world</p>
<p>Noe Padilla, USA TODAY NETWORK July 31, 2025 at 10:31 PM</p>
<p>Anh-Thu Nguyen, 44, wanted to be the first Vietnamese woman to complete a solo flight around the world. Her journey ended prematurely after her airplane crashed in Greenwood, Indiana, on July 30.</p>
<p>The Johnson County coroner has identified Nguyen, a flight instructor and a Purdue University graduate, as the pilot killed in the small-plane crash.</p>
<p>Nguyen was on the second leg of her journey. She left the Indy South Greenwood Airport at 10:45 a.m. and was en route to an airport in Pennsylvania, according to flight records from Flightaware.</p>
<p>A few minutes after taking off from the Greenwood airport, Nguyen's 2005 Lancair IV-P was seen spiraling out of the air. The plane ultimately landed on a hill behind a Circle K gas station.</p>
<p>Frank Williams, a witness to the crash, said the airplane was quiet as it fell from the sky.</p>
<p>"There was no explosion, and there was no fire. I pulled right up, and I could smell fuel. As I got close to the plane, I could tell there wasn't a survivor," Williams said.</p>
<p>It's unclear what led to the crash. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.</p>
<p>A photo of Anh-Thu Nguyen, 44, who died in a plane crash on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Greenwood, Indiana.Who was Anh-Thu Nguyen?</p>
<p>Nguyen, a 2015 Purdue graduate, wanted to inspire other Asian women to get in the cockpit.</p>
<p>She started Asian Women in Aerospace and Aviation Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization in 2018 and became the chief flight instructor at Dragon Flight Training Academy in Georgia.</p>
<p>Nguyen was born in Vietnam, moving to the United States when she was 12 years old. She received a bachelor' of science's in math and a master's in aeronautics and astronautics engineering from Purdue University. She received a doctoral degree in aeronautics and astronautics engineering from Georgia Institue of Technology.</p>
<p>"As an Asian woman, I faced many obstacles and challenges to get to where I am today, especially adapting to a new culture, language, and life in the United States. I wanted to give back and inspire the next generation," she told Purdue University.</p>
<p>Nguyen originally conceived the idea of becoming the first Vietnamese woman to complete a solo flight around the world in 2019, but due to a number of issues, her plans were pushed back.</p>
<p>On July 27, 2025, Nguyen officially started the journey when she flew out of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, toward Indiana.</p>
<p>On July 30, before Nguyen left the Greenwood airport, she posted an update about her journey on social media.</p>
<p>"I just completed the first leg of my solo flight around the world," she said. "This is more than just a flight. It's a mission to inspire the next generation of Asian female pilots and aerospace engineers and STEM professionals."</p>
<p>Her death has come as a shock to many who were following the start of her journey on Facebook, Instagram and Threads. The comment sections of her videos were filled with "rest in peace" messages.</p>
<p>Noe Padilla is a Public Safety reporter for IndyStar. Contact him at [email protected], follow him on X @1NoerPadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social.</p>
<p>This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Woman who died in plane crash was trying to fly solo around the world</p>
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