Jessica Cox

Jessica Cox (born February 2, 1983) is the world's first licensed armless pilot, as well as the first armless black-belt in the American Taekwondo Association. She was born without arms due to a rare birth defect.

Jessica Cox graduated from the University of Arizona in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in communications.  

Cox has not used prosthetic arms since she turned 14. Using her feet as most people use their hands, she is able, among other things, to drive an unmodified car with an unrestricted license, to type on a keyboard at 25 words per minute, to pump her own gas, and to put in and remove her contact lenses. She is also a certified scuba diver.

Career

Jessica Cox flew in a single-engine airplane for the first time via Wright Flight in 2004. Jessica earned her pilot's certificate on October 10, 2008, after three years of training and is qualified to fly a light-sport aircraft to altitudes of 10,000 feet. She received her flight training through an Able Flight scholarship and soloed under the instruction of Parrish Traweek. Cox's Sport Pilot Certificate is for an ERCO 415-C Ercoupe, which the Federal Aviation Administration has designated a light sport aircraft. Designed in the 1940s, the Ercoupe was built without rudder pedals. Instead, the rudder is interconnected with the ailerons through the yoke. This unique design allows Cox to control the airplane with one foot controlling the yoke while the other foot controls the throttle. At the age of 10, Cox began training in taekwondo at a school in her hometown of Sierra Vista. In 2019, Cox became a fourth-degree black belt.

Cox works as a motivational speaker and has shared her message in 26 different countries. In 2015, Cox published an autobiographical self-help book, Disarm Your Limits,] in order to inspire people to overcome their own challenges through the lessons she has learned in her life.