Canadian planes wait in Chile before flying to Antarctica on medical mission

CALGARY – Two Canadian planes that are on their way to Antarctica on a medical mission are waiting on the southern tip of South America for favourable weather to complete their journey.

The U.S. National Science Foundation says in a Facebook update that was posted Sunday afternoon that the aircraft are on the ground in Punta Arenas, Chile, and will carry on to the British Antarctic Survey station at Rothera when the weather allows.

The two Twin Otter planes from Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air left Calgary on Tuesday.

One will stay at the British station for search and rescue purposes, while the other will travel 2,400 kilometres further to the Amundsen-Scott Research station at the South Pole.

The foundation says a seasonal employee with Lockheed Martin at the Amundsen-Scott station requires hospitalization and must be evacuated.

It’s mid-winter in Antarctica and the foundation says flights in and out of the station are usually not planned between February and October due to the extreme cold and darkness.

The foundation says the Twin Otter aircraft that Kenn Borek Air flies are able to operate in extremely low temperatures and are able to land on skis. As there is no tarmac runway at the South Pole, it says the aircraft must land in total darkness on compacted snow.

Kenn Borek provides contractual logistical support to the Antarctic Program, according to the foundation, and conducted similar evacuations in 2001 and 2003.

In January 2013, a Kenn Borek Air Twin Otter crashed on the side of one of Antarctica’s highest peaks while delivering fuel for an Italian research team, killing the three Canadians on board.

No cause was pinned down for the crash.

Amundsen-Scott is one of three year-round stations the National Science Foundation says it operates in Antarctica.

It says there are 48 people wintering at Amundsen-Scott, performing a variety of tasks related to station maintenance and science.