6-year-old UAE boy knows how to fly a plane

Pilots of Etihad Airways experienced a rather unusual surprise during their flight from UAE to Morocco.

After landing, a 6-year-old boy visited the cockpit and gave a detailed account of the aircraft operating systems and actions pilots take during emergencies.

"Some planes have a Ram air turbine. It gets emergency systems back on if the engines fail. The Ram [air] turbine can help to bring back the systems," Adam Mohammed Amer, of Egyptian-Moroccan origin, explained to the pilot on a video that quickly went viral over social media, gathering over one million views.

"But due to the no-engine power, the landing gear doors will not come up. After that you have to do something else to lower the flaps. You have to drop the gear by gravity alone," Adam is heard telling Capt. Samer Yakhlef who filmed the whole encounter.

"And if you have no hydraulics and your plane is taking right, you reduce engine 1 and increase engine 2 then the plane will go level again," said Adam about a system that Yakhlef referred to as "asymmetrical power."

The boy, a first grade student who attends Al Ain Choueifat School, aspires to be a future pilot. "I'm going to be a captain, just like you," he tells Yakhlef on video, to which the captain replies, "I cannot wait to fly with you."

Adam had first caught a flight attendant's attention through the way he spoke about the aircraft's flaps, safety measures and emergency exit operations. The flight attendant insisted on taking the child to the cockpit to meet the pilots after passengers disembarked.

Speaking to Khaleej Times, the boy's father Mohammed Amer said they caught Adam's passion for flying ever since he was one year old. Neither of his parents, who've been in the UAE for the past 10 years, comes from an aviation background.

"[Adam] would hold a paper or a kitchen mop and pretend it's a plane flying. When he enters a toy shop, the first thing that gets his attention are airplanes," said Mohammed, referring to the many toy planes that the boy takes wherever he goes.

"He has always had a thirst for knowledge and he questions everything. We knew if we wanted to develop his character, then we should give him the space to ask and learn," said Mohammed, who works in the administration of Al Ain Football Club.

Always intrigued, the boy watches documentaries, reads aviation magazines and conducts his own research online until he memorized the various types of aircrafts, along with their different sizes and parts. He talks to his parents about space, rockets and airplanes among different topics.

His mother Najat El Hathout started teaching him the English language ever since he was nine months old through reading him stories and using applications. By the age of three, the boy was English fluent.

While Adam was first fascinated with helicopters, his new favorite is an Airbus A380. Adam told Khaleej Times over the phone that his passion for planes stems from his desire to "have wings and fly like birds."

"When I become a captain, my English teacher will be my passenger and I'll take her to London, Heathrow." He added, "I want to travel to America, the North Pole, the South Pole and all the seven skies."

His parents say Adam had caught the attention of cabin crew of previous flights he took, and had visited several cockpits. They're currently looking at aviation schools that can help develop the boy's talent.

"I saw the captain in the cockpit, and I know how to fly a plane. Days pass and as I grow older, my knowledge becomes deeper," said Adam.

Meanwhile, Etihad Airways spokespersons were not available for comment at print time.

Source: Khaleej Times