Victoria Louise Van Meter (March 13, 1982 – March 15, 2008) was an American
aviator
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...
. She was known for setting several distance-flying records for child pilots. At the age of 11, she became the youngest pilot to fly east to west across the continental United States of America, and the youngest female pilot to cross in either direction.The History and Physics of Flight
Minnesota Department of Transportation
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees Transportation in Minnesota, transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Cabinet (government), cabinet-lev ...
Office of Aeronautics p. 7 . Retrieved 2008-03-18.
Early life
Van Meter first manipulated the controls of an airplane at the age of 10. On September 20, 1993, at the age of 11, she made headlines when she flew from
Augusta, Maine
Augusta is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Maine. The city's population was 18,899 at the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Maine, 12th-most populous city in Maine, and third ...
, to
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, in a
Cessna 172
The Cessna 172 Skyhawk is an American four-seat, single-engine, high wing, fixed-wing aircraft made by the Cessna Aircraft Company. A year later, she flew a
Cessna 210
The Cessna 210 Centurion is a six-seat, high-performance, retractable-gear, single-engined, high-wing general-aviation light aircraft. First flown in January 1957, it was produced by Cessna until 1986.
Development
The early Cessna 210 (21 ...
over the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
to
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
.
She visited the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
and appeared on ''
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...
''.
Soon after her European flight Van Meter gave up flying.
In 2003, Van Meter was featured with 36 other female pilots in the traveling exhibit ''Women and Flight — Portrait of Contemporary Women Pilots'', based on a book of the same name by Carolyn Russo.*
Pursuant to the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996 signed into law by President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
on October 9, 1996, after the death of
Jessica Dubroff
Jessica Whitney Dubroff (May 5, 1988 – April 11, 1996) was a seven-year-old American trainee pilot who died while attempting to become the youngest person to fly a light aircraft across the United States. On day two of her quest, the Cessna 1 ...
, it is no longer legal in the United States (under 49 USC § 44724) to attempt to set records as a student pilot, which effectively means that some of the records set by Van Meter will never be legally broken by an American.
Personal life
Van Meter served as a
Peace Corps
The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
volunteer in
Moldova
Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
after graduating from
Edinboro University
Pennsylvania Western University, Edinboro (abbreviated as PennWest Edinboro) is a campus of Pennsylvania Western University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. The campus had an enrollment of 2,259 as of fall 2024.
History
PennWest Edinboro was foun ...
with a degree in criminal justice. She worked as an insurance-company investigator and had made plans to pursue graduate studies.
Death
Van Meter died at her home in
Meadville, Pennsylvania
Meadville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,050 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Meadville is withi ...
, on March 15, 2008, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 26. Her suicide surprised her family, who believed that she had been coping with her depression.
See also
*
Barrington Irving
Captain Barrington Irving Jr. CD (born November 11, 1983) is a Jamaican-born American pilot who previously held the record for the youngest person to pilot a plane around the world solo, a feat he accomplished in 2007. He is also the first black ...
*
Jessica Dubroff
Jessica Whitney Dubroff (May 5, 1988 – April 11, 1996) was a seven-year-old American trainee pilot who died while attempting to become the youngest person to fly a light aircraft across the United States. On day two of her quest, the Cessna 1 ...