PAGO PAGO: US Coast Guard officials have suspended the search for a man whose plane was being piloted by his 17-year-old son when it crashed in the ocean off American Samoa during an around-the-world flight attempt.

Rear Admiral Cari Thomas said in a statement on Sunday that the decision to suspend the search for 58-year-old Babar Suleman was “difficult”.

The body of Babar’s son, Haris Suleman of Indiana, was recovered shortly after Tuesday’s crash. A memorial service was being planned at the site where searchers believe the plane may have crashed.

Haris had hoped to set the record for the fastest circumnavigation around the world in a single-engine aeroplane with the youngest pilot in command. His journey also was a fund-raiser to help build schools in his father’s native Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2014