Teenage pilot starts around-the-world flight from Bulgaria

By VESELIN TOSHKOV
Associated Press

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — A Belgian-British teenage pilot hopes to join his sister in the record books after starting his attempt to become the youngest person to fly around the world solo in a small plane. The 16-year-old Mack Rutherford took off from an airstrip west of Bulgarian capital Sofia in windy but clear conditions. His parents were looking on. His 19-year-old sister Zara Rutherford set the world record for the youngest woman to fly solo around the world when she touched down in Belgium on Jan. 20. Mack Rutherford if successful would displace Travis Ludlow of Britain who was 18 when he set the record in 2021.