An Australian air crew has successfully completed a daring midwinter flight to rescue an American worker facing a medical emergency in Antarctica.
Emergency call from the ice
The call for urgent help came from the U.S. Antarctic program after an expedition member fell ill at McMurdo Station. Winter missions in Antarctica are rarely attempted because extreme freezing weather makes flying extremely dangerous.
Preparing snowbird 1 for takeoff
Engineers worked continuously for 24 hours to equip an Airbus A319 plane named “Snowbird 1” into a specialized medical jet.
The crew then waited through a 12-hour weather delay before taking off from Hobart, Australia on July 31.
Landing in total darkness and extreme cold
The crew flew five and a half hours into complete polar darkness, landing at freezing temperatures of minus 43°C. Copilot Louise Robertson explained:
“We had some what’s called nautical twilight which is a very minimal amount of light that is pretty much pitch blackness,” while pilot Al Wallach noted that “the conditions we encountered were right on the edge of even the most specialized aircraft capability.”
Safe arrival in New Zealand
After loading the patient, the team quickly departed as the weather worsened. The aircraft landed in Christchurch, New Zealand, where the patient was admitted to the hospital. Australian Antarctic Division head Emma Campbell praised the mission, saying:
“This was a complex operation carried out in the depths of the Antarctic winter and it highlights both the capability of our people and the strong partnerships that underpin Antarctic programs around the world.”
