Coast Guard suspends search for teen pilot’s missing father
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa >> U.S. 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 says in a statement Sunday that the decision to suspend the search for 58-year-old Babar Suleman was “difficult.”
The body of Suleman’s son, Haris Suleman of Indiana, was recovered shortly after Tuesday’s crash.
A 2 p.m. Sunday memorial service is planned at the site where searchers believe the plane may have crashed.
American Samoa’s lieutenant governor is expected to lead the 2 p.m. Sunday service, which includes throwing a wreath at sea to remember Haris and Babar Suleman.
Haris Suleman had hoped to set the record for the fastest circumnavigation around the world in a single-engine airplane with the youngest pilot in command. His journey also was a fundraiser to help build schools in his father’s native Pakistan.