A teenage schoolboy of British and Belgian descent landed in Nairobi, Kenya on Wednesday in a daring mission to become the youngest person to fly around the world solo.

Mack Rutherford, who commenced his solo trip close to Sofia, the capital of Bulgarian, in March is trying to wrestle the Guinness World record from his countryman Travis Ludlow.


The quest by Rutherford using his two-seater single prop ultralight aircraft comes barely a year after Ludlow completed a solo trip around the world in 2021 when he was only 18.

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"I'm hoping, with this journey, to inspire young people to follow their dreams," said Rutherford on climbing out of his aircraft at Wilson Airport in the Kenyan capital.


The teen set off on the daring journey despite Shark Aero, the manufacturer of the aircraft, refusing to partner with him on the project terming the trip too risky for the young boy.


"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," Shark Aero said on its website.


The trip will see Rutherford land in four other countries in Africa and the Indian Ocean then set off to the Middle East, Asia and North America before flying back to Europe.

Rutherford revealed that he had the toughest time when navigating the Sahara Desert and when he crossed over to Kenya en route to Wilson Airport due to visibility challenges.


“The main challenges I have had so far, mostly were over the Sahara Desert to do with visibility, because obviously the sun comes out and you have to be very careful. But that went well, perfectly fun, he said.


He went on, “But then when I actually came into Nairobi it was completely fun but there are quite high mountains here and there are quite low clouds so I had to be really careful, and I couldn’t get the radio contact until I was very very close to the airport.”


The daring and ambitious young Briton comes from a lineage of pilots and first held the controls of a plane at the tender age of seven while being assisted by his adoring father.


He went on to become the youngest pilot in the world at the age of 15 and follows closely in the footsteps of his elder sister Zara, the youngest woman to fly around the world aged 19.