With just 25 hours of prior training, a 14-year-old teenager from Sharjah has become one of the world's youngest pilots by taking his first solo flight in a Cessna 152.
According to Khaleej Times, the DPS Sharjah student Mansoor Anis took charge of his first solo flight at the age of just 14.
The Indian national who was born and raised in Sharjah was seven years old when he began training with his uncle.
The youngster was introduced to a computer flight simulator by his New Delhi-based uncle, who is also a professional pilot working for a private airline in India.
Mansoor was 13 when he decided that he wanted to pursue a professional career in the aviation industry.
Less than a year later, he travelled to Canada with his mother to begin training at the AAA Aviation Flight Academy in the city of Langley, British Columbia.
Mansoor says that the academy's chief flight instructor was hesitant at first to take on such a young student, but quickly realised Mansoor's great understanding of what flying an aircraft entails.
"What I had learned from my uncle helped me a lot. For example, there were some theoretical things, like with the instruments, that he had taught me to use beforehand," Mansoor told Khaleej Times.
"I was a little nervous, but I was ready to fly. I was excited. The flight was about 10 or 12 minutes. I was most nervous about the landing. It's really tough. It had taken me much time to learn how to land properly," Mansoor added.
"I want to be an airline pilot, my dream airlines are Emirates and Etihad," said Mansoor Anis.
The boy has returned to Sharjah this week and says he is overwhelmed by the positive response he has received from his friends and family.