Teen pilot completes record-breaking flight around continental US
Meet Isaiah Cooper. He's a 16-year-old from Campton, California who just completed a record-breaking flight.
The teenager has made history by becoming the youngest African-American pilot to fly around the continental U.S.
After fly across the U.S. for two weeks, Cooper landed at the Compton-Woodley Airport on Monday. Cooper was able to travel 8,000 miles in 13 days.
See photos of Cooper below:
On a GoFundMe page Cooper explained that he began attending an aviation program at Tomorrow's Aeronautical Museum when he was only 5-years-old. He soon dropped out due to hanging with the wrong crowd and doing "seriously self-destructive things," he says.
Cooper explained more: "My grade-point average dropped to 0.8. Realizing that this was not how I wanted to live my life, I returned to TAM, refocusing my efforts in school and dedicating my life to becoming a pilot. I raised my GPA to 3.7."
Although Cooper faced extreme weather conditions during his journey, he didn't give up and hopes that his story will inspire other kids.
His next goal is to fly around the world solo when he turns 18, which would break yet another record.
Matt Guthmiller of South Dakota is the current Guinness World Record holder. In 2014, he circumnavigated the globe on his own.
