The daring rescue mission was truly an international effort. National Science Foundation (NSF) spokesman Peter West on Wednesday sent an email to CTV News, confirming the Canadian Twin Otter turboprop plane had landed at Rothera station after making a 10-hour flight from Amundson-Scott.
From the British outpost, that sits on the Northern tip of Antarctica, the two workers will be flown off the continent to a hospital for care, probably in Punta Arenas in southern Chile, according to the Washington Post. The NFS will not reveal the worker’s names or their medical conditions out of respect for their privacy.
Update: Antarctic medical evacuation flight arrives at British Rothera Station wn2l1GzZDC
— National Science Fdn (@NSF) June 22, 2016
South Pole winter is not conducive to flying
Planes don’t usually fly to outposts in Antarctica from February to October because it’s pitch dark and colder than a well-digger’s ankles. On Wednesday, the temperature was minus 75 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 60 degrees Celsius) at the South Pole. That’s pretty cold on any scale.
The first day of winter in the Southern Hemisphere was Monday, June 20. The sun will not rise again on the South Pole until September. The extreme cold can affect a lot of things on airplanes, including the fuel, which needs to be warmed up before takeoff is even attempted. Batteries and the plane’s hydraulic systems are also adversely affected. So this means that flying can be extremely dangerous.
Tim Stockings, the operations director at the British Antarctic Survey in London said the rescue mission was really pushing the limits of what is acceptable, adding that preparation is the key. “The air and Antarctica are unforgiving environments and punishes any slackness very hard,” Stockings said. “If you are complacent it will bite you.”
“Things can change very quickly down there” with ice from clouds, high winds and snow, he said, according to the Times-Picayune.
Kenn Borek Air is credited with making this rescue mission a success. The Calgary-based airline now has three Antarctic rescues under its belt, after making two previous successful attempts, according to Digital Journal. Alberta bush pilot Sean Loutitt was with Kenn Borek when the first ever rescue during an Antarctic winter was made in 2001. Before that rescue, a flight through the polar night in winter had never been done. Loutitt was the first man to do this, even though everyone assumed it couldn’t be done.
