Delta to 'consider' an eight-year-old's plan to locate crashed planes after he sent sketch to execs

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Benjamin Jensen, from Ogden, Utah, is the son of two Air Force veterans
He came up with an idea of giant orange balloons with transmitters floating to the surface in the event of a plane crashing into the ocean
He sent the sketch and a letter to Delta CEO Richard Anderson
Senior vice president of safety, security and compliance, John E. Laughter, said he liked the idea

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 00:32 EST, 21 November 2015 | Updated: 03:22 EST, 21 November 2015

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Benjamin Jensen came up with a great idea while watching a TV show recently about missing planes.

With two Air Force veterans as parents, the Utah boy has always been an aircraft enthusiast.

He decided to sketch out his plan - which involved giant orange balloons inflating and floating to the surface in the event of a plane crash - and send it in a letter to Delta CEO Richard Anderson.

But he never thought that the airline's senior vice president of safety, security and compliance, John E. Laughter, would write back to him, saying that he liked the idea.

Young inventor: This is Ben's idea for tracking lost planes, using giant balloons with transmitters inside of them, that would float to the surface in the event of a crash while still being attached to the aircraft

The plan: Ben wrote this letter to Delta CEO Richard Anderson, explaining the idea sketched in his drawing

We could have a system that has neon orange balloons that rise up to the surface when the plane crashes in the sea,' reads the letter, Fox News reported.

'And there would be stones at the bottom so they would stay there. 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.'

A few weeks went by before Ben got his reply.

He received a package with two model airplanes, some Delta pens and pencils, and Laughter's letter.

'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 sent us. I will make sure to share your plans with them!'

Ben was overjoyed to receive this in a package from Delta Airlines. There were two model airplanes, some pens and pencils, and a letter from senior vice president of safety, security and compliance, John E. Laughter

In his letter, Laughter also spoke about how he has a son the same age as Ben, and thanked him

The letter was addressed to Delta CEO Richard Anderson (left) and the response written by Senior Vice President of Safety, Security and Compliance, John E. Laughter (right)

Ben's ingenuity was not surprise to his mother, Laura Treider, who, along with her husband, served in the Air Force.

'He’s always been interested in aviation, particularly in the design of military airplanes,' she told Fox.

'At first we thought (the package) was a birthday gift because he’s turning nine next week, but when he saw who it was from he started jumping up and down saying “I got Delta! I got Delta!”