Malik Sinegal, a 23-year old from Mississippi, has made history as the youngest African American to be certified as a Boeing 777 pilot in the world. He himself did not initially realize just how significant his accomplishment is!

Malik says that he found out about the record-breaking news only when a representative from Boeing contacted him to inform about it.

“The Triple 7 is one of the airplanes that people usually don’t touch until they’re around their forties or fifties or they’ve been at the airlines for a very long time,” he said.

“And I came down with the opportunity where — a scholarship opportunity where — I was able to get into the airplane.”

Malik shared that he has always wanted to fly Boeing 777, which is known as the world’s largest twinjet.

“The biggest reason for me is that I’ve always wanted to fly this airplane. I was able to get in it for my first time in 2004 going to Anchorage, Alaska, which is my favourite place in the world.”