📰 Curated from Associated Press
📖 Read full article→American flown to a New Zealand hospital in a rare midwinter Antarctic rescue mission - AP News
WorldBy Rod McGuirk, Charlotte Graham-McLay8/7/20261 min read
An Australian air crew has flown an American from an Antarctic base to a New Zealand hospital in a rare midwinter rescue. The owner of the rescue jet, Skytraders, says the Airbus A319 flew from the Australian city of Hobart to the U.S. McMurdo Station in Anta…
✨ Key Highlights
- An Australian air crew flew an American patient from the U.S. McMurdo Station in Antarctica to a hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand, in a rare midwinter rescue mission.
- The Airbus A319 Long Range jet, call sign Snowbird 1 and owned by Melbourne-based Skytraders, departed Hobart on July 31 and reached Antarctica after a five-and-a-half-hour flight in response to an "urgent request for assistance."
- The aircraft landed in darkness at Phoenix Airfield near McMurdo, with temperatures as low as minus 43 C (minus 45.4 F), before the patient was evacuated the same day as weather conditions deteriorated.
- The U.S. National Science Foundation said the patient was admitted to Christchurch Hospital in serious condition, and the Australian Antarctic Division confirmed the person continued receiving treatment; New Zealand's Health Ministry declined to comment on their condition.
- Emma Campbell, head of the Australian Antarctic Division, described it as a complex operation in the depth of the Antarctic winter that showcased staff capability and strong international partnerships.
- Copilot Louise Robertson said the mission pushed the aircraft close to its operational limits, citing near-total darkness, extreme cold and roughly 8 knots of wind adding significant wind-chill.
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) An Australian air crew flew an American from an Antarctic base to a New Zealand hospital in a rare midwinter rescue.
The Airbus A319 Long Range aircraft, with the call sign