/Rick Wiley / Arizona Daily Star
By Rick Wiley | Arizona Daily Star
Jessica Cox of Tucson was born without arms. She mentors and people with disabilities to help them overcome their obstacles. Pilot Tim Treat gave Cox and her foundation his 1946 Ercoupe to help people with disabilities achieve their goals, including flight. The Ercoupe is designed without rudder pedals, which allows Cox to use her feet to fly the plane.
Cox took her first solo flight in 2008. She traveled to Ethiopia in 2013 year as a guest of Handicap International, an aid organization that focuses on disabled children. Cox has been a full-time motivational speaker since graduating from the University of Arizona in 2005 and has focused her attention on disability issues in impoverished countries. She recently visited Ghana, where she met people forced to the lowest tier of society because of their physical differences.
Jessica Cox steers the yoke with her foot as she flies a single engine Ercoupe plane in San Manuel, Ariz., Thursday Jan. 8, 2009. /Photo by Greg Bryan/Arizona Daily Star Transmission
