Following In His Brother's Footsteps, This 16-year-old Teenager Wants To Break The Record For The World's Youngest Solo Aviator

Mack Rutherford. (Sumber: Instagram/macksolo2022)

JAKARTA - Still only 16 years old, this teenage boy is on a quest to break the record of becoming the world's youngest solo pilot, when he successfully landed his plane in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi last week.

Mack Rutherford, who is of British and Belgian nationality, started his journey near the Bulgarian capital Sofia in March and is looking to reach the Guinness World record currently held by compatriot Travis Ludlow, aged 18, when he completed a round-trip navigation last year.

"I hope that this trip will inspire young people to pursue their dreams," said Rutherford after disembarking from his two-seater ultralight prop plane at Wilson Airport.

The plane's manufacturer, Shark Aero, deemed the trip too risky and refused to partner with the Rutherford project.

"Mack is undoubtedly a skilled pilot. However, we don't feel comfortable pushing the age limit to the lowest possible point for travel, where a certain level of risk is unavoidable," the company said on its website.

Rutherford's trip will see him visit four more countries in Africa and the Indian Ocean, before heading to the Middle East, Asia and North America and finally back to Europe.

Coming from a family of pilots, Rutherford first took control of a plane at the age of seven, sitting next to his father.

At 15 she became the world's youngest pilot and now follows in the footsteps of her older sister Zara, the youngest woman to fly around the world at 19.

Visibility is a challenge when flying across the Sahara desert, he says, but the views more than make up for it.

"It didn't disappoint me, I really liked the scenery around the Sahara desert and in Kenya," he concluded.