Oman to receive the youngest pilot in the world by May end

The Oman Civil Aviation Authority on Tuesday agreed to receive the youngest pilot in the world at Muscat International Airport at the end of May, as part of his round-the-world trip.

On March 23, a 16-year-old British-Belgian Mack Rutherford, took off from Bulgaria to begin his journey around the world in an ultralight plane, weighing only 325 kilograms and flying at speeds of 299 kilometres per hour.

Rutherford hoping to break the record as the youngest pilot to circumnavigate the world solo, in an ultra-light aircraft.

Rutherford is scheduled to land at Muscat International Airport on May 31, as part of his journey that will pass through 30 countries within 3 months.

Rutherford, who learned to fly light aircraft at the age of seven, is seeking to break the previous record set by Britain’s Travis Ludlow, 18, in 2021.

So far, he has flown to South Africa, Congo, Madagascar, Mauritius, Italy, Greece, Sudan and Kenya. He will fly over Oman next and then make a brief stop in the UAE.

Earlier, Rutherford told reporters before taking off from a small airport near the city of Radomir, near the Bulgarian capital Sofia: “We had to change the flight path, because of the war in Ukraine.”

“I will not cross over Russia’s airspace, but I will pass over Pakistan, India, China, South Korea and Japan, to arrive after that to the United States,” he added.

The war in Ukraine did not prevent Rutherford from embarking on a challenge that his sister had preceded him when she was 19; because he comes from a family of pilots.

Mack’s mission can be tracked online on his website.