Anh-Thu Nguyen, founder of Asian Women in Aerospace & Aviation, tragically died in a plane crash in Greenwood, Ind., while on a mission to inspire future pilots.

This summer was meant to be when Anh-Thu Nguyen’s years of planning finally came to fruition. The South Florida flight instructor set out on Wednesday from Indiana to start the second leg of

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.