American flown to a New Zealand hospital in a rare midwinter Antarctic rescue mission
The Airbus A319 landed at McMurdo Station in darkness after a 12-hour weather delay and carried the patient to Christchurch for treatment.
- On Friday, July 31, Australian aviation company Skytraders flew an Airbus A319 from Hobart to McMurdo Station in Antarctica in response to an "urgent request for assistance."
- The mission, codenamed Snowbird 1, navigated temperatures as low as-43C and required the crew to wait 12 hours for a suitable weather window before takeoff.
- Copilot Louise Robertson described the flight as "right on the verge of the limitation of the aircraft," noting that operating in complete darkness and extreme cold is "very, very rare."
- After retrieving the patient from the Phoenix Airfield, the crew flew to Christchurch, New Zealand, where the American was admitted to Christchurch Hospital in serious condition.
- Captain Al Wallach said the successful mission reflected the team's specialist expertise, as Skytraders has completed winter medevacs previously but never this close to the winter solstice.
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Australian crew pulls off extraordinary Antarctic medical evacuation
Getting sick in Antarctica is one thing. Getting sick there in the middle of winter is another problem entirely. On July 31, an Australian crew flew a specially configured Skytraders Airbus A319 Long Range from Hobart to McMurdo Station, answering an urgent call to evacuate a seriously ill American. — Read the rest The post Australian crew pulls off extraordinary Antarctic medical evacuation appeared first on Boing Boing.
An Australian aviation team carried out a rescue mission considered unheard of during winter in Antarctica by removing a serious American citizen from the McMurdo research base. The operation took place under extreme conditions, with temperatures up to -43°C, intense winds and total darkness, and ended with the patient's transport to a hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand.
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