Teen Pilot Prepares To Make History

CHARLEROI, Belgium (AP) – A Belgian-British teenage pilot is set to become the youngest person to fly around the world solo in a small plane.

Mack Rutherford landed Tuesday in southern Belgium ahead of the penultimate leg of his global odyssey.

Weather permitting, the 17-year-old aviator is due to land in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, on Wednesday, some five months after setting out.

That would break the record set by 18-year-old Travis Ludlow in 2021.

Rutherford is flying a fast ultralight Shark with a cruising speed reaching 300 kph (186 mph).

It’s the same kind of aircraft his 19-year-old sister Zara used to set the world record in January for the youngest woman to fly solo around the world.