The story has been told of a Nigerian man, Zachary Anglin who recently became the first Amputee pilot in the world.
The determined Nigerian man fights hard to become a Pilot after suffering 10 rejections.
Zachary who suffered several rejections in an attempt to fulfill his dream has finally become successful.
He set a record as the first-ever amputee pilot in the world.
Zachary, a Nigerian who grew up in Liberia was born a quadruple amputee i.e. without hands and feet has defied the odds to set a record as the first-ever quadruple amputee commercial pilot in the world.
Narrating his story in an interview with Newsweek, he revealed that though he is a Nigerian, he was raised in Liberia by his mother who runs an orphanage and raised him alongside 18 siblings.
Zachary said he had to adapt very quickly to his surroundings despite his condition.
”My mom told me I didn’t realize I was missing my hands and feet until I was roughly eight years old. The reason was that I had to keep up with my siblings, whether we were climbing a tree on the farm, skateboarding, jumping on a trampoline, or fighting for the last piece of pizza,” he said.
He said being a pilot was always a dream of his, an inspiration he got from his mother who liked traveling, and his father who is also an airplane fanatic.
”I remember my dad driving me to the airport, and me seeing all these big airplanes flying in and out of Minneapolis. I remember thinking: “Oh my gosh, I want to do that.” My dad was an airplane fanatic as well, which inspired me to be a pilot even more,” he said.
Chukwuemeka said when he was in his senior year, he told people that he wanted to be a pilot, and they discouraged him advising him to embrace a less stressful career but he was not convinced and remained determined.
”They said things along the lines of: “Zack, that’s a little extreme for your condition, why not do something that’s a little bit safer?” My counselor in school advised me to go into law instead, but I refused. I’m a little bit stubborn sometimes, which can be beneficial for me,” he said.
After high school, he applied to five flight schools and received an acceptance letter from one of the schools. Chukwuemeka said he was filled with joy and excitement and he moved down to Oklahoma to begin his flight school in 2018.
Chukwuemeka stated that he faced a lot of challenges in a bid to achieve his goal. He said he failed his medical examination five times because of his disabilities but he persevered with the support of his parent.
‘I needed an opportunity to show people that I could learn how to fly a plane. After the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) denied me five times, I kept on calling them, to the point where the receptionist at the front desk, who speaks to hundreds of people a day, would say: “Is this Zack?” he said.
He added that the receptionist was shocked by the fact that he was not giving up, and because of that, he was finally allowed to take an examination called SODA (a statement of demonstrated ability) which meant that he had to do something different than normal for pilots.
”Ordinarily, a pilot would see an aviation doctor and be granted a medical license, but I had to fly to Tulsa, do three hours of training, and then go to Oklahoma City and fly with an FAA Designated Airman just to get my medical license,” he said. Fortunately for him, he passed SODA.
He said when he started flight school, he was finally working on the aircraft and fulfilling his dream.
However, he still had challenges because he had to work out how to function the plane properly.
”There are a lot of radios in a plane, along with buttons and switches. We also have rudder pedals and brakes that are on the floor of the aircraft.
So, I had to adjust my to a specific position and I had to use a seat pad to get closer to the controls,” he said.
Zachary credited his instructor, the chief pilot of the flight school for being patient with him and for always encouraging him that he would help him fulfill his dream. In 2019, he was titled the first commercial quadruple amputee pilot in the world.
He said it was such an honor and a true privilege and his happy that he could break the barrier for the next person.
Zachary is now helping people like him to achieve their dream of becoming a pilot.
I’m glad that I can give back because I had a lot of people in my corner helping me through my journey.
It was a long process, but it certainly was worth it. I’m glad that I kept on going. I’m very grateful for the gift of perseverance,” he said.
