Nothing makes 16-year-old Austin Booth feel quite like taking to the skies and defying the law of gravity the way he defied life’s odds. Booth was born with multiple heart defects and serious lung problems. Doctors said he probably wouldn’t live long enough to be a teenager. “They said Austin would outgrow his heart at around 8 or 9 years old. He’s had 24 surgeries on different parts of his body and he’s thrived through every one of them,” said Austin’s mother, Angie Booth. At the age of 16, Booth faced his fear and decided he wanted to learn to fly. Booth was sure he could get a real feel for it by playing video games at home near Gainsville. “I just learned how to move it and everything and how to use the controls and stuff and how to land and how to take off,” Booth said. Booth’s family was able to get in touch with an organization called Teens-in-Flight, and one of their jobs is teaching kids to fly. That’s what Booth did on Friday. Under his instructor’s guidance, Booth was over Flagler County and saw the world from a different perspective. “It feels weird, it seems like everything is so big on the ground and you’re up there and you’re like, well, maybe not,” Booth said. “I like the view of everything. We were flying over the ocean and I was looking at the ocean and I forgot I was flying and all.” This is the third time Booth has flown. The first time he was 11 years old. Seasoned veterans said he was a natural. “It was a bit bumpy on the plane and there was a point where he was pushed out of his seat and said, ‘That was fun,'” said Will Patin, Booth’s instructor. “I said, ‘I’ve never heard anyone, a passenger, say they like that.’ They usually say they want to go back to the airport.” “If you see him land and he’s grinning from ear to ear and you get out, he’s grinning from ear to ear, that’s what it’s worth,” said Ric Lehman of Teens-in-Flight. It is worth taking risks so that he can accept life. Teens-in-Flight has scheduled its fourth flight. Top Headlines: 24 Florida stores close Tuesday morning Family catches great white shark during Florida fishing trip Massive sargassum bloom threatens central Florida beaches
Nothing makes 16-year-old Austin Booth feel quite like taking to the skies and defying the law of gravity the way he defied life’s odds.
Booth was born with multiple heart defects and serious lung problems.
Doctors said he probably wouldn’t live long enough to be a teenager.
“They said Austin would outgrow his heart at around 8 or 9 years old. He’s had 24 surgeries on different parts of his body and he’s thrived through every one of them,” said Austin’s mother, Angie Booth.
At the age of 16, Booth faced his fear and decided he wanted to learn to fly.
Booth was sure he could get a real feel for it by playing video games at home near Gainsville.
“I just learned how to move it and everything and how to use the controls and stuff and how to land and how to take off,” Booth said.
Booth’s family was able to get in touch with an organization called Teens-in-Flight, and one of their jobs is teaching kids to fly.
That’s what Booth did on Friday.
With his instructor’s guidance, Booth found himself above Flagler County and seeing the world from a different perspective.
“It feels weird, it seems like everything is so big on the ground and you’re up there and you’re like, well, maybe not,” Booth said. “I like the view of everything. We flew over the ocean and I looked at the ocean and I forgot I was flying and all.”
This is the third time Booth has flown.
The first time he was 11 years old. Seasoned veterans said he was a natural.
“It was a bit bumpy on the plane and there was a point where he was pushed out of his seat and said, ‘That was fun,'” said Will Patin, Booth’s instructor. “I said, ‘I’ve never heard anyone, a passenger, say they like that.’ They usually say they want to go back to the airport.”
“If you see him land and he’s grinning from ear to ear and you get out, he’s grinning from ear to ear, that’s what it’s worth,” said Ric Lehman of Teens-in-Flight.
It is worth taking risks so that he can accept life.
Teens-in-Flight has scheduled its fourth flight.
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