Youngest pilot flying around world lands in Ahmedabad on a stormy Sunday

AHMEDABAD: Not all was dark and stormy on Sunday for Ahmedabad. Just ahead of the city getting battered by torrential rainfall, Mack Rutherford, a 17-year-old pilot from Brussels, landed in Ahmedabad. Rutherford, who is among the youngest ones to receive his flying licence at the age of 15, is attempting a world record to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world solo in an aircraft.
On Sunday morning, he landed in Ahmedabad on his single-engine aircraft, Shark Aero UL from Karachi, Pakistan. "I want to give a message to the youngsters that they don't need to be adults to be able to make a difference. It's all about their will and passion," Rutherford told TOI, who started his journey in March this year.
"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. Often few people know about them. Together we can show that young people make a difference," he added.
He has visited Bulgaria, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Yemen, Mauritius, Seychelles, UAE, Oman, Pakistan, and India. His journey would conclude two months down the line.
"Belonging to a family of aviators, be it my parents, siblings and even my grandparents, flying always intrigued me and I began attempting and learning since I was 11 years old and obtained my license at 15. When I started this journey, I modified the aircraft by installing an extra fuel tank so that I could fly over longer distances along international borders," said Rutherford.
At Ahmedabad, he stayed with a local host and tried local cuisines which he enjoyed. But the stormy night didn't quite make his onward journey to Delhi any smoother.
"When I reached the airport this morning back to my aircraft, there was a small puddle in the aircraft and water had seeped in. I realised it was indeed a stormy night. I had to put in rags to clear the water and begin my journey to Delhi. There was a bit of turbulence as I had to go around two big clouds which were fairly low-lying but as I approached Delhi, the journey was smooth," Mack Rutherford said.
Rutherford will stop at Kolkata after Delhi and then continue moving towards Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, S Korea, and then to Japan and eventually towards the US, Greenland, Iceland, UK, Belgium and back to Bulgaria where he started his journey.