KARACHI: A 17-year old Belgian-British pilot who is attempting to become the youngest person to fly across the world solo in a small plane canceled his scheduled flight to Karachi from Dubai on Thursday afternoon due to unfavorable weather conditions, his team said.
Mack Rutherford was scheduled to land in Karachi at 2pm PST and stay for two-days before flying onwards to the Indian city of Ahmedabad as part of his journey to fly to 52 countries in five continents to break the record of Travis Ludlow, who completed the feat in 2021 at 18.
Rutherford will now re-attempt to fly to the Pakistani port city on Friday morning.
Rutherford comes from a family of aviators and was inspired to take on his latest journey by his sister, Zara Rutherford, who in January this year became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world. He wanted to fly since he was eleven, having flown hundreds of hours with his father who is a professional pilot. He received his microlight pilot’s license when he was 15.3 years old, making him at the time the youngest pilot in the world.
“With this trip, I hope to show that young people can make a difference and that you don’t have to wait until you are 18 to follow your dreams,” Rutherford told Arab News from Dubai. “You can start working toward them now.”
“I am expecting an amazing and unique experience in Pakistan,” he added. “I have heard Pakistan is very different from other places with deserts and mountains and I can’t wait to see it for myself.”
“I am happy to find out what the local food is and try it out,” he added.
Mack Rutherford, who is attempting to become the youngest person to fly across the world solo in a small plane, seen before kicking off his world mission from Sofia, Bulgaria, on March 23, 2022 (Photo Courtesy: Team Mack Rutherford)
Rutherford started his journey in March from Sofia, Bulgaria, from where he flew south across the Mediterranean and through the Sahara to the Congolese jungle. Turning east through Mozambique and Madagascar, he reached the far eastern Mauritius island of Rodrigues. He then north through his first antipodal point before continuing through the Seychelles and the Yemeni island of Socotra.
He then went onwards through Oman and the UAE. Rutherford arrived in Dubai five weeks ago and struggled to get an Iranian visa but changed his plan and decided to skip Iran. He also couldn’t make it to Russia due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
He will now fly onwards to India, China, South Korea and Japan, then enter Alaska and go down the West Coast of the US, to Baja California, and a small island in the Pacific, Isla Socorro, his second and last antipodal.
The last leg of Rutherford’s journey will take him through mainland Mexico and Texas, to New York and Canada. He will also visit Greenland and Iceland to cross the Atlantic to Scotland before continuing through England to Belgium and returning to Sofia.
“I want to use the opportunity to meet young people on my route who do incredible things, making a difference to their communities or even to the world,” Rutherford said. “Often few people know about them. Together we can show that young people make a difference.”
Mack Rutherford, who is attempting to become the youngest person to fly across the world solo in a small plane, in Dubai, UAE, in June, 2022 (Photo Courtesy: Team Mack Rutherford)
Rutherford said his journey had been “amazing” so far.
“I had some amazing flights over Kenya and Sudan,” he told Arab News. “Where I was able to see incredible deserts and wildlife.”
