In an article today in the Washington Post, Sarah Kaplan writes of a
risky mission underway to fly a Twin Otter aircraft to Amundsen-Scott base
at the South Pole to rescue a sick worker.
There are 48 people overwintering at the base at the moment which
is generally inaccessible between February and October. Described
as harder to get to than the International Space Station and with
temperatures at 60C below zero and in permanent darkness, it is
a daring, rare and risky mission to fly there and back.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Sarah Kaplan, Washington Post
Between February and October, only one type of craft can fly to, land at and take off again from the South Pole: the tiny Twin Otter. Two of these hardy, winter-proof bush planes, operated by Canadian polar service firm Kenn Borek, are now headed south, Falkner said, each of them carrying a pilot, a co-pilot, an engineer and a medic. Once they reach the British research station Rothera on Adelaide Island, one plane and its crew will remain behind to provide search and rescue capability should the main plane go down.
The second Twin Otter will continue on toward the pole, flying into the deeper cold (current temperature at Amundsen-Scott is minus-76 degrees Fahrenheit) and impenetrable night. If all goes well, it could arrive as early as June 19, though that depends on whether the pilots can find a window in the brutal Antarctic winter weather to fly.
"It's a 10-hour flight, and you only have 12 or 13 hours of fuel on board," Alberta bush pilot Sean Loutitt said. "You're monitoring the weather the whole time, but eventually you get to a point of no return. Then you're committed to the pole, no matter what."
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Article here -
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...he-south-pole/
Track the rescue aircraft here -
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CGKBO
