This photo made March 25, 1994, in Quincy, Florida, shows Jerrie Mock posing next to a photograph of her that was taken minutes before her historic around-the-world flight in 1964. Fifty years ago Mock became the first woman to fly solo around the world. The flight took her a little over 29 days in the "Spirit of Columbus". (AP Photo/Tallahasee Democrat/Mike Ewen) (The Associated Press)
CINCINNATI – Recounting her history-making adventure 50 years later, Jerrie Mock plays it down as a fun way to see the world.
The native of Newark, Ohio, became the first female pilot to fly solo around the globe when her single-engine Cessna named Spirit of Columbus landed in the state's capital on April 17, 1964. She covered more than 23,000 miles in 29-plus days while stopping in places such as Casablanca, Cairo and Calcutta.
Her trip came 27 years after Amelia Earhart's mysterious disappearance in the Pacific. Mock's flight had harrowing moments such as a nearly disastrous fire and a mistaken landing at an Egyptian military base.
Now 88 and living in Quincy, Fla., Mock says what others call a major accomplishment she calls "fun."
A commemoration is planned Thursday in Columbus.
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