17-Year-Old Boy Sets Guinness Record for Solo Flight Around the World in 5 Months

Holds the Record for the World's Youngest Pilot License

A 17-year-old British-Belgian teenager, Mac Rutherford, who succeeded in a solo circumnavigation flight in a light aircraft, is waving his hand after arriving in Sofia.
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Mac Rutherford, a British-Belgian boy, set a new world record as the youngest solo pilot at the age of 17.

According to major foreign media including CNN on the 24th (local time), Mac Rutherford landed on the western runway of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, concluding his five-month flight.

He is the younger brother of Zara Rutherford, who holds the record as the youngest female to complete a solo world flight in an ultralight aircraft at the age of 19.

Rutherford challenged the record two months after Zara completed her flight. The previous youngest solo world flight record was set by British pilot Travis Ludlow last year at the age of 18. Rutherford obtained his pilot’s license at 15, which is also a world record for the youngest pilot.

Rutherford traveled across 52 countries on five continents in an ultralight aircraft over five months, covering a total distance of 54,124 km. He took off and landed 68 times and set a record of 221 hours of continuous flight time in the air.

Originally, Rutherford expected the world trip to take up to three months, but unexpected obstacles such as sandstorms and heatwaves extended the flight time. He flew for 10 hours without landing over a volcanic island near the Bering Strait after crossing the North Pacific, then headed to Canada along the U.S. East Coast, crossed the Atlantic, and proceeded to Europe. Rutherford celebrated his 17th birthday during the flight.

The aircraft he flew, named "Shark," is a two-seater ultralight aircraft with a maximum speed of 300 km/h. For the long journey, Rutherford removed the seats and added extra fuel tanks.

Upon arriving at the Sofia runway in Bulgaria, the starting point of his journey, Rutherford said, "Through this journey, I wanted to inspire many young people to bring about change," adding, "You don’t need to be 18 to do something special, and if you chase your dreams, you can make them come true." After completing the flight, Rutherford plans to return to school and focus on his studies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.