The Youngest Ever!
Mack Rutherford just flew around the world, and he’s only 17!
Mack Rutherford poses with his airplane in Seattle, Washington.
A pilot named Mack Rutherford just became the youngest person ever to fly solo (alone) around the world. Rutherford is 17 years old.
Rutherford’s small plane took off from Bulgaria, a country in Europe, on March 23, 2022. As Rutherford circled the globe, he flew over 52 countries and stopped in 30 countries to rest and refuel his plane. On August 24, 2022, he finished his journey in Bulgaria, where it had begun five months earlier.
Mack Rutherford has broken two world records!
Rutherford has now broken two world records. Previously, the youngest person ever to fly around the world was 18 years old. Rutherford also became the youngest person ever to use an ultralight plane to travel all the way around the world. The person who held that record before was Mack’s own sister, Zara Rutherford! Zara was 19 years old when she finished an around-the-world flight in January 2022.
Zara told reporters that she talked to Mack on the phone almost every day of his journey.
“Our parents called him every day, and I joined in those conversations,” Zara said. “I gave him advice on the route, on the flight, so that I could be useful to him.”
Mack Rutherford’s sister, Zara (right), finished an around-the-world flight in January 2022.
The trip was a dream come true for Mack Rutherford, who decided he wanted to be a pilot when he was 3 years old. In 2020, Rutherford became the youngest pilot in the world when he earned his license to fly at age 15.
Rutherford has a message for kids like him. It’s posted on his school’s website.
“You don’t need to be an adult to do incredible things,” it says.
