US patient flown from Antarctica
On 8 August, the Australian Antarctic Division responded to a request from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to assist in the repatriation of an expedition member from McMurdo Station by sending in a specialist medical team onboard an A319 Airbus passenger plane.
On 8 August, the Australian Antarctic Division responded to a request from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to assist in the repatriation of an expedition member from McMurdo Station by sending in a specialist medical team onboard an A319 Airbus passenger plane. McMurdo Station is one of three year-round stations the NSF maintains in Antarctica.
At the time of the request, the unnamed patient was determined to be stable, but possibly needing corrective surgery that would be best delivered at a more capable facility than that available at McMurdo.
As no US aircraft were in a position to respond quickly to the situation, the NSF reached an agreement with the Australian Antarctic Division to utilise the Australian A319 to fly the patient out. The Royal New Zealand Air Force was also involved in the mission, having been called on to provide search and rescue coverage for the flight to and from McMurdo Station. The three nations’ Antarctic research programmes have existing agreements under which such assets may be shared as needed, explained the NSF.
The plane landed at the ‘Pegasus’ ice runway, one of the few Antarctic runways that can accommodate wheeled aircraft, near McMurdo Station after a flight of five hours and around 3,800 km (2,400 miles) from Christchurch, New Zealand. The team spent around an hour on the ground to prepare the patient before taking off for the return leg.
One factor affecting the mission was that as Antarctica is currently emerging from its six-month-long night, the only daylight available to assist pilots in making a landing is a period of twilight at mid-day. The Antarctic research season begins in October, and regular flights have not yet started.
Australian Antarctic Division Director Dr Tony Fleming said that all nations work together co-operatively in these sorts of emergency situations in Antarctica to provide support as and when required.
Image: The A319 used in the mission pictured at Wilkins Aerodrome, Antarctica (Nisha Harris / Australian Antarctic Division)