Armless pilot gives students a look at first foot-controlled plane: ‘Disability does not mean inability’

Jessica Cox, the first licensed pilot without arms, gives a demonstration to students at AeroStar Avion Institute in Chicago. The school gives students from disadvantaged communities the chance to explore careers in aviation and engineering. (Cindy Hernandez/Sun-Times)

If given the choice between having arms or not having arms, pilot Jessica Cox says she would choose to live without them.

Cox was born without arms, but that hasn’t stopped her from accomplishing her dream of flying an airplane.