Zara Rutherford spent 155 days flying around the world, navigating rains, turbulence, wildfire smoke and other challenges before landing in Belgium Thursday, completing her quest to become the youngest woman to fly around the globe solo.

With her trip, Ms. Rutherford broke the record for youngest woman to fly around the world solo, which was held by Shaesta Waiz, who made her voyage in 2017 at the age of 30, according to Guinness World Records. The youngest person to make the solo trip is still Travis Ludlow, who did so last...

Zara Rutherford spent 155 days flying around the world, navigating rains, turbulence, wildfire smoke and other challenges before landing in Belgium Thursday, completing her quest to become the youngest woman to fly around the globe solo.

With her trip, Ms. Rutherford broke the record for youngest woman to fly around the world solo, which was held by Shaesta Waiz, who made her voyage in 2017 at the age of 30, according to Guinness World Records. The youngest person to make the solo trip is still Travis Ludlow, who did so last year when he was 18. 

The 19-year-old, who is Belgian-British, started her trip in August from Belgium. The daughter of two pilots, Ms. Rutherford had grown up around airplanes and had thought about a solo voyage before, but put it out of her mind because she thought it would be too dangerous and too costly. Then, after finishing the European equivalent of high school, she thought: “This is the perfect opportunity to do something crazy,” she said during a press conference Thursday. 

She lined up sponsors, including ICDSoft, a web-hosting company based in Bulgaria. Aircraft maker Shark.Aero set her up with a small one-propeller plane and training, including how to escape the aircraft from underwater. 

Ms. Rutherford said the two-seat plane had a parachute for emergencies, could fly about 190 miles an hour and was designed for long trips. But there were restrictions: She couldn’t fly at night or through clouds, which made some trips tricky. 

Zara Rutherford spent 155 days flying around the globe and setting a record with Guinness World Records.

Photo: PASCAL ROSSIGNOL/REUTERS

On her way to Greenland in August, she flew just 600 feet above water to avoid low clouds and lost radio contact for several hours. 

“My first text to my parents after landing was ‘I’m alive,”’ she said in an Instagram post. “And I think that sums up the trip so far.”

Ms. Rutherford had to turn away from Seattle in September and head to Redding, Calif., after wildfire smoke made it hard to see anything beyond the peaks of mountains. 

She was stuck in Nome, Alaska, for a month for several reasons, including wildfires, technical issues, bad weather and an expired visa. In a post, she said she spent some of the time applying to universities. She’s still waiting for results, but plans to attend a university in September and study engineering. 

Weather kept her grounded at times, including heavy rains in Heraklion, Greece, and strong winds in Ayan, Russia. 

“I’ve been having loads of fun walking around the town and meeting new people,” Ms. Rutherford said about Ayan on Instagram. “Getting slightly tired of the snow and ice though…”

She defrosted in the Caribbean, spending time at the private island of Richard Branson, the billionaire behind the Virgin brand, one of the companies sponsoring her trip. She and Mr. Branson paddle boarded, played tennis and fed the furry lemurs living on the island.  

The two-seat plane piloted by Zara Rutherford had a parachute for emergencies, could fly about 190 miles an hour and was designed for long trips.

Photo: Kurt Desplenter/Zuma Press

Flying over Siberia was a highlight for the teen. There were no trains, villages or any signs of human life, Ms. Rutherford told The Wall Street Journal Thursday. Another place that she enjoyed hovering over was Saudi Arabia. The sky was clear, she said, and she liked seeing the desert.

Ms. Rutherford kept people updated on her whereabouts through her website, FlyZolo.com, and posted about her travels to her more than 70,000 followers on Instagram.

She saw a volcano over Iceland; camels above Saudi Arabia; and the Statue of Liberty as she made her way to New York City. 

Her longest flight was 8 hours, from Mumbai to what was supposed to be a landing at Dubai. But when she approached the city she had to make a detour and land at another location 60 miles away because of a rare thunderstorm.   

After five months of traveling, she said at a press conference Thursday that she was looking forward to going home to Brussels and doing nothing. 

“It’ll be very strange to not have to fly every single day anymore, or try to fly every single day,” she said. “But I’m just happy to finally be in the same spot for a few months.”

Write to Joseph Pisani at joseph.pisani@wsj.com