Plane crash near Pago Pago

A plane carrying an American father and son attempting to fly around the world for charity crashed in the Pacific Ocean Tuesday night near the Pago Pago International Airport in American Samoa.

The family of Haris and Babar Suleman confirmed on Wednesday that 17-year-old Haris died in the crash. Boats and divers are still looking for Babar, 58.

The pair took off from Plainfield, Indiana, on June 21, planning to go 40,000km around the world to raise money for an organisation that helps poor children around the world attend school. They had already raised close to $500,000, almost enough to build three schools.

The father and son had flown together since Haris was eight years old, and Haris was scheduled to pilot the plane during the entire journey. He would have been the youngest person in history to circumnavigate the world in a single-engine airplane.

American Samoa’s acting governor has ordered all territorial government assets be concentrated on the search and rescue effort following the plane crash near the capital, Pago Pago.