Ingenuity and innovation certainly know no boundaries, least of all age.
So when an 8-year-old aviation enthusiast penned a letter to Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson with an idea on how to track a missing flight, not only did he receive some cool swag from Delta but a promise that his idea would be considered and forwarded on.
The boy, Ben Treider, wrote to Anderson after watching a television program called "Why Planes Disappear," which featured the mystery of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. Treider has a fascination with airplanes and airlines, not particularly surprising, given his mother and father have both served in the United States Air Force.
"I came up with an idea to locate crashed planes that land in the sea," he wrote, according to Consumerist, Inc. "We could have a system that has neon orange balloons that rise up to the surface when the plane crashes in the sea. The balloon wouldn't be light enough to float up into the air, and it would have reinforced rubber to withstand a lot of pressure. And put an RF transmitter in the balloon to locate it."
Ben included his own hand-made drawing of the ambitious plan.
That was in mid-October; last week, Ben received a reply from John E Laughter, Delta's Senior Vice President of Safety, Security and Compliance, writing on behalf of Anderson.
"…I work with many Delta people, The Federal Aviation Administration, and airplane manufactures to solve problems such as airline tracking in an emergency," Laughter wrote. "There are lots of experts thinking about ideas just like you send us. I will make sure to share your planes with them!"
Included with the letter was a trove of goodies from Delta, including a pair of model planes, branded pens, pencils and more.
"He was so excited," his mother, Laura, told Consumerist. "It's nice that a busy executive took a few minutes out of his day to help a little boy feel like his ideas are important."
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