16-year-old reaching new heights as youngest solo flyer

One teenager is on a roll to becoming the youngest person to fly around the world solo

16 year old Mack Rutherford began his journey near Bulgaria’s capital 2 months ago, and touched down in Kenya’s Nairobi on Wednesday.

If the dual British and Belgian national completes his quest, he will take the Guinness World record from Travis Ludlow who was 18 when he circumnavigated the world last year.

Rutherford hopes to inspire other young people to “follow their dreams”.

The pilot is travelling in a two-seater single prop ultralight aircraft, whose manufacturer, Shark Aero, refused to partner with the project, deeming it too risky.

The company says they “do not feel comfortable pushing the age limit to the lowest possible point for journeys where a certain level of risk cannot be avoided”.

Rutherford will stop by four more African and Indian Ocean countries, before flying to the Middle East, Asia and North America, after which he will return to Europe.

The pilot described some of the challenges while travelling through the Sahara desert.

The 16 year old comes from a family of pilots, getting behind the wheel for the first time at the age of seven, guided by his father.

The journey will not be the first for the Rutherfords, his older sister Zara became the youngest woman to fly around the world, aged 19.