19-year-old Simbarashe Machigere became Zimbabwe’s youngest pilot after being awarded a commercial pilot license on 5 May 2019.
Machigere received his training at the East African Aviation School in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where he also broke the aviation academy record by flying solo after 29 hours of training.
Simbarashe Machigere was born in Bindura the capital of the Mashonaland province of Zimbabwe on 3 July 1999 in Bindura making him 19 years, 11 months, and 2 days when he became a commercial pilot.
He went to Shashi Primary School in Bindura before proceeding to the Greek Community School where his father Saston Mapfaka Machigere is the Minister-Counsellor at the Zimbabwean Embassy in Addis Ababa.
List of the world’s youngest commercial pilots include
| Name | DOB | Age | Year | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Besa Mumba | 9 December 1996 | 18 | July 2015 | Zambia |
| Daniel Adeyelika | 6 February 1995 | 19 | 2014 | Nigeria |
| Luke Elsworth | September 1996 | 19 years, 7 months | April 2016 | UK |
| Simbarashe Machigere | 3 July 1999 | 19 years, 11 months, 2 days | 2019 | Zimbabwe |
| Audrey Esi Swatso | 23 February 1997 | 20 years, 10 months | December 2018 | Ghana |
| Kate McWilliams | 1990 | 21 | May 2011 | UK |
