8-Year-Old’s Safety Idea Impresses Delta Executives

An eight-year-old inventor was recognized by a Delta executive for his idea for finding lost aircraft.

A young inventor who submitted ideas on improving commercial aircraft safety to Delta Air Lines was formally recognized by the carrier with a message of encouragement from an airline executive. Eight-year-old Ben Treider received more than he could have imagined when he sent an idea for a water recovery device to the legacy airline.

According to Fox News, Treider was inspired by watching a television special about missing aircraft, which included Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. As a result, the budding inventor created a device that would identify where an aircraft came down in the ocean using bright orange balloons that would rise upon submersion.

“The balloon wouldn’t be light enough to float up into the air,” Treider explained in a letter to Delta chief executive Richard Anderson. “And it would have reinforced rubber to withstand a lot of pressure.”

With his mother’s help, Treider submitted his idea to Anderson, which included a drawing. Weeks later, the inventor received a response from John E. Laughter, senior vice president of safety, security and compliance at the airline, thanking him for his idea.

“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 in his response. “There are lots of experts thinking about ideas just like you send us. I will make sure to share your planes with them!”

Included in the letter were a number of Delta-themed items, including model aircraft, and Delta-branded pens and crayons. Tredier’s mother told Fox News the young inventor was ecstatic over the response.

“At first we thought it was a birthday gift because he’s turning nine,” Laura Treider told Fox News. “But when he saw who it was from he started jumping up and down saying ‘I got Delta! I got Delta!’”

[Photo: Ben Treider/Consumerist]