The New Zealand Air Force successfully completed a high-risk operation in Antarctica to evacuate three Americans.
According to Fox News, after a nearly 20-hour medical evacuation in freezing temperature and total darkness, the New Zealand Air Force on Wednesday, August 6, rescued three US National Science Foundation staff members at McMurdo Station.
The evacuation was made after one of the staff members required urgent medical treatment, while the other two also needed healthcare support.
The research centre did not have adequate medical treatment on-site.
Air Commodore Andy Scott, head of New Zealand’s air component The crew can only attempt the flight after detailed analysis of the weather and airfield state. The United States Antarctic Program Winter Team must physically create the runway before we can depart by ensuring the ice is groomed and suitable for landing.”
“Although they determine it is safe, it's still an extremely challenging environment to fly in on night vision goggles due to the extreme weather conditions, which are highly changeable at this time of year and make accurate forecasting a challenge. This, coupled with there being no airfields available to divert to once the aircraft is past a certain point south, adds to the risk," he added.
A medical team with a physician was also among the crew of the evacuation mission in -11°F temperatures to provide in-flight medical assistance to the US staff while it heads to Christchurch, New Zealand.
The aircraft was pre-positioned, and the crew was on standby in Auckland on Sunday, waiting for a suitable weather window.
