OPA-LOCKA Fla.
A 23-year-old pilot landed his single-engine plane as onlookers cheered Wednesday, becoming what he says is the youngest person to fly solo around the world.
Before ending his three-month trip, Barrington Irving circled the Opa-locka airport and flew low along the runway as a band played. He smiled and waved as he climbed out of the plane in his tan jumpsuit, hugging and praying with friends and family.
“I am home,” he said quietly when he stepped to a microphone. The long flight challenged him mentally and physically, he said, and “I am proud to have had the opportunity to live my dream.”
Irving, an aerospace student who built his plane from more than $300,000 in donated parts, had left the Miami-area city March 23. In all, his continent-hopping journey covered some 27,000 miles.
He completed two legs Tuesday, flying the “Inspiration” from Houston to Mobile, Ala., in the morning and then from Mobile to Orlando late in the day. The short flight from Orlando on Wednesday completed his journey.
He claims he is first black person as well as the youngest person to complete the journey alone, though it was unclear how the claims would be validated.
