MUSCAT: Mac Rutherford, 16, the world's youngest pilot arrived in the Sultanate as part of his mission to achieve the record for flying over the skies of 30 countries on four continents.
The Civil Aviation Authority on Tuesday issued approval for the arrival of the flight by the youngest pilot in the world, Mack Rutherford.
The 16-year-old schoolboy who is on a quest to become the youngest person to fly around the world solo, landed his small plane in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on May 19.
Mack Rutherford, who has British and Belgian nationality, started his journey near the Bulgarian capital Sofia in March and is looking to clinch a Guinness World Record currently held by compatriot Travis Ludlow, who was 18 when he completed a circumnavigation last year.
"I'm hoping, with this journey, to inspire young people to follow their dreams," Rutherford said after clambering out of his two-seater single prop ultralight aircraft, at Wilson Airport.
"Mack is no doubt a skilled pilot. However, we do not feel comfortable pushing the age limit to the lowest possible point for journeys where a certain level of risk cannot be avoided," the company said on its website.
Rutherford's journey will see him visit four more African and Indian Ocean countries, before heading to the Middle East, Asia and North America and finally returning to Europe.
Coming from a family of pilots, Rutherford first took the controls of an aircraft at the age of seven, sitting alongside his father. At 15, he became the youngest pilot in the world and is now following in the footsteps of his sister Zara, the youngest woman to fly around the world at age 19.
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