Armless Fil-Am pilot in Phl for vacation

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino-American Jessica Cox, listed in the Guinness World Records as the first person without arms to earn a pilot’s license, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) yesterday morning to spend a month in her mother’s home province of Samar.

Cox, 28, said her mother, Ines, and boyfriend Patrick Chamberlain, will “meet their relatives, go shopping and swimming in the beach.”

Born to an American father and a Filipina mother, Cox said she lives a normal life in Tucson, Arizona, using her two feet to clean the house, brush her teeth, drive a car, play piano, and later on become an expert in tae kwon do and fly an airplane.

Cox has gone all over the globe, spreading the gospel of “desire, persistence and fearlessness” as the way for people to achieve their dreams.

“I’ve been to Italy, Greece, Canada, Puerto Rico, Africa and many, many other places all over the world,” she said. “We all have our challenges and I really like this as a gift, we are all blessed in our own ways.”

After graduating with a degree in psychology from the University of Arizona, Cox said she decided to conquer her fear of flying.

“It was actually my greatest fear, so I decided to try it out. After the first flight I was hooked and decided I want to be a pilot after that first flight,” she said, adding that she uses a single-engine Ercoupe, a two-seater, low wing, bubble canopy private aircraft.

“I fly with my feet, my right foot is on the yoke and my left in the throttle, I use both feet, no special equipment. It’s a big challenge, but once in the air, its empowering, it’s like a bird,” Cox added.

Cox said if she decides to be a commercial pilot, she will have to add more flying hours. For now, she said she earns a living going on speaking engagements around the world.

“Every one of us has a challenge, whether physical, psychological, emotional, we all have our challenges, but we also have a choice whether we allow it to stand in the way or we allow it to give us an opportunity to succeed. So all of us have that option. We have a choice. The choice is yours,” she said.