A Defence Force plane carried out a rare winter medical evacuation of an American at Antarctica’s McMurdo Station today in “challenging and dangerous” conditions.
The C-130H Hercules left Christchurch at 2am this morning, touching down on the frozen continent shortly before 9am this morning.
The patient has been in a stable condition with a non-life threatening condition, however, they required medical treatment that cannot be carried out in Antarctica.
Air Component Commander Air Commodore Andy Scott said flights to Antarctica during winter are very challenging due to the extreme environment, changeable weather conditions, and a lack of daylight.
“Apart from flying in a combat environment, night flying missions to Antarctica in the middle of winter present the most challenging and dangerous of conditions.”
The Hercules crew flew into Phoenix Airfield using night vision goggles, first used by Kiwi pilots flying into Antarctica in July 2021 for another medical evacuation. To protect against the extreme cold, the plane’s engines were kept running, known as “hot-fuelling”.
“With a narrow gap of acceptable weather, the crew deployed early this morning,” Scott said.
“The weather had deteriorated again on arrival and so they have threaded the needle to get in when they did.”
At each stage of the journey, the crew had to make “go, no-go” decisions on whether to proceed, he said.
“Our highly trained crew analyse the conditions every step of the way to ensure they can continue.”
The aircraft had to be refuelled in Antarctica before making the journey home as there were no airfield to divert to en route.
“We’re very pleased we have been able to successfully carry out this Antarctica flight today and get the patient to New Zealand to receive further medical treatment.”
Defence Minister Judith Collins said in a post to X, formerly Twitter, that she was “so proud of our Airforce [sic] and New Zealand Defence Force crew”.
“The crew landed on the ice, in the Antarctic winter, in the dark, wearing night vision goggles in a 60-year-old [Hercules]. This is one of the most dangerous operations and they did it with back up available from our Australian ally.”
United States Ambassador to NZ Tom Udall described the “world-class” medical evacuation as “extraordinary flying”.
“Our longstanding, bilateral cooperation in Antarctica and to and from the ice, is always deeply valued, but esepcailly meaningful today. Thank you for your service.”
