Jakarta – Mack Rutherford, a teenager of dual British-Belgian nationality, landed in Bulgaria on Wednesday (24/08), establishing himself in the Guinness World Records as the youngest person to fly around the world alone, breaking the record held by British Travis Ludlow who was two years old. then flew around the world at the age of 18, a fellow Briton.
“I’m so excited to complete my five-month voyage around the world,” Rutherford said in a video posted on Facebook. “With this trip, I’m trying to show that young people can make a difference,” he added.
Rutherford left Radomir airport near Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, on March 23 aboard an ultralight aircraft called Shark. The aircraft is equipped with additional fuel tanks for long journeys.
Returning Wednesday at his departure airport meant he traversed the globe covering some 54,000 kilometers. Rutherford crossed the equator twice according to the requirements of the Guinness Book or World Records, visiting about 52 countries on five continents.
“It should only take between two and three months, but it took five months,” Rutherford told the AP news agency. He said there were delays in some places, such as in Crete and Dubai “because of paperwork, visas, permits, things like that.”
Rutherford visited Africa and the Gulf region, where he faced extreme heat, before connecting to India, China, South Korea and Japan, then Alaska, the West Coast of the US and Mexico, the East Coast of America and Canada. From there he flew across the Atlantic Ocean via Iceland, England and Belgium.
During his flight, Rutherford was accompanied by a small teddy bear. He celebrated his 17th birthday in flight.
On Tuesday (23/08), before completing the last part of his journey, he landed at a Belgian airfield, near the town of Charleroi, where he was doing his first pilot training.
Rutherford, who comes from a family of aviators, first flew an airplane when he was seven years old. Her sister, Zara, became the youngest woman to fly around the world, breaking the world record on January 20.
Sam Rutherford, Mack and Zara’s father, said, “They’ve traveled the world safely, effectively, professionally. And they’ve shown other kids that they don’t have to be 18, and certainly not 30, to make a difference and do something and chase dreams.” yf/ts (AFP/AP)