UPDATE: Canada On Risky Rescue Mission To Antarctica
Darkness, extreme cold make for dangerous flight
THURSDAY – Two Canadian Twin Otter planes have successfully transported two ill workers from a U.S. research station to Chile. One was suffering from gastric issues, the other had suffered a heart attack. These kinds of rescues are rare, given the extremely cold weather in Antarctica and the nothing-but-darkness from February to October. Twin Otters are the only planes able to withstand such extreme cold – it was minus-60 celsius during the rescue.
WEDNESDAY – A Canadian plane has landed at the South Pole is a risky mission to rescue a sick worker at a remote research centre. Two twin otter planes, the only aircraft capable of withstanding the sub-zero temperatures. They made the 9-hour, 2400 kilometre flight across Antarctica yesterday. The temperature at the station was minus-60 celsius. The medical condition of the worker has not been disclosed, but is deemed serious enough to warrant the flight. There have been just two other such missions in the 60-year history of the base.
photo credit: By Bill Henriksen, National Science Foundation – U.S. Antarctic Program, National Science Foundation via Wikipedia
