{"id":32321,"date":"2026-08-08T11:17:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:17:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=32321"},"modified":"2026-08-08T11:17:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T06:17:42","slug":"us-citizen-flown-out-of-antarctica-in-daring-mid-winter-rescue-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=32321","title":{"rendered":"US citizen flown out of Antarctica in daring mid-winter rescue mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-editable=\"content\" itemprop=\"articleBody\" data-reorderable=\"content\">\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikri6u001y28qjejqdeqmy@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            A US expeditioner in Antarctica was rescued last month in a daring mid-winter medical evacuation by an Australian aviation team in the middle of crippling temperatures and near pitch-black conditions.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvt00023b6r9td9tzfs@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The \u201cextraordinary\u201d mission kicked off on July 28, when the Australian Antarctic Division made an \u201curgent request for assistance\u201d for a medical evacuation from the US McMurdo Antarctic research station, according to Skytraders, the Australian airline specializing in flights to the vast, frozen continent.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu00033b6rqxpbbgra@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            After an initial attempt on July 29 was delayed by severe weather, Skytraders\u2019 Airbus A319 \u2014 named Snowbird 1 \u2014 departed Australia on July 31 at 2:44 am local time, and reached McMurdo station more than five hours later, the airline said, landing in \u201cextremely challenging conditions\u201d including complete darkness and temperatures dipping to \u201345.5 F (-43 C).\n    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cmsil4jh6000s3b6r2cq1z986@published\" class=\"image_large-elevate vossi-image_large-elevate  image_large__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image_large\" data-name=\"c-70AEF93B-528C-4652-A0C5-9386DADF6A5A.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{\" image_large--eq-extra-small=\"\" data-original-ratio=\"0.75\" data-original-height=\"1125\" data-original-width=\"1500\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-70aef93b-528c-4652-a0c5-9386dadf6a5a.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image_large__container \" data-image-variation=\"image_large\" data-breakpoints=\"{\" image_large--eq-extra-small=\"\">\n       <picture class=\"image_large__picture\"><source height=\"undefined\" width=\"860\" media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-70aef93b-528c-4652-a0c5-9386dadf6a5a.jpg?c=original&amp;q=w_860,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"undefined\" width=\"860\" media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-70aef93b-528c-4652-a0c5-9386dadf6a5a.jpg?c=original&amp;q=w_860,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"undefined\" width=\"860\" media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-70aef93b-528c-4652-a0c5-9386dadf6a5a.jpg?c=original&amp;q=w_860,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"undefined\" width=\"967\" media=\"(min-width: 480px) and (max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-70aef93b-528c-4652-a0c5-9386dadf6a5a.jpg?c=original&amp;q=w_967,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"undefined\" width=\"679\" media=\"(max-width: 479px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-70aef93b-528c-4652-a0c5-9386dadf6a5a.jpg?c=original&amp;q=w_679,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-70aef93b-528c-4652-a0c5-9386dadf6a5a.jpg?c=original&amp;q=w_860,c_fill\" alt=\"A Skytraders rescue crew landed in Antarctica in pitch black conditions to evacuate a US national.\" class=\"image_large__dam-img image_large__dam-img--loading\" onload=\"this.classList.remove('image_large__dam-img--loading')\" onerror=\"imageLoadError(this)\" height=\"1125\" width=\"1500\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu00043b6rc2nl6nc9@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            After safely transferring the American patient onto the plane, the mission departed Antarctica \u201cahead of deteriorating conditions,\u201d Skytraders said, and then flew to Christchurch, New Zealand, where the patient was treated.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu00053b6rknavfd0r@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            No details about the patient have been provided, and Health New Zealand would not disclose information without family approval. Skytraders declined to comment on the patient, saying only that they are now \u201crecovering well.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu00063b6rrames0eu@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The US Antarctic Program did not immediately reply to CNN\u2019s request for details.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu00073b6relew2au8@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cEvery Antarctic mission demands absolute precision, but winter operations raise the complexity significantly,\u201d Captain Al Wallach, the main pilot on the flight, said in a statement. \u201cThe conditions we encountered were right on the edge of even the most specialized aircraft capability.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu00083b6rgjuh0rn3@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Louise Robertson, the co-pilot of the successful mission, told CNN that even during the summer months, missions to Antarctica are no easy feat.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu00093b6rakepagov@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cMost of the runways are just compacted snow, which means that there\u2019s groomers that come out and prepare the runway to make sure it\u2019s got enough friction for the aircraft to be able to stop, and then also that the surface is smooth and clear,\u201d Robertson said.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu000a3b6romg90i8x@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            During the flight, crews are in constant communication with meteorological teams across the globe to track unpredictable weather patterns.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu000b3b6rz9133na6@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            That preparation only intensifies during rare and daring winter flights, and the pressure was compounded due to quick turnaround times required for the medical emergency, she added.\n    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cmsilb7zt000w3b6r3t1t2h3h@published\" class=\"image_large-elevate vossi-image_large-elevate  image_large__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image_large\" data-name=\"c-20260731_103658.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{\" image_large--eq-extra-small=\"\" data-original-ratio=\"0.6664285714285715\" data-original-height=\"933\" data-original-width=\"1400\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-20260731-103658.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n<div class=\"image_large__container \" data-image-variation=\"image_large\" data-breakpoints=\"{\" image_large--eq-extra-small=\"\">\n       <picture class=\"image_large__picture\"><source height=\"undefined\" width=\"860\" media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-20260731-103658.jpg?c=original&amp;q=w_860,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"undefined\" width=\"860\" media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-20260731-103658.jpg?c=original&amp;q=w_860,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"undefined\" width=\"860\" media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-20260731-103658.jpg?c=original&amp;q=w_860,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"undefined\" width=\"967\" media=\"(min-width: 480px) and (max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-20260731-103658.jpg?c=original&amp;q=w_967,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><source height=\"undefined\" width=\"679\" media=\"(max-width: 479px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-20260731-103658.jpg?c=original&amp;q=w_679,c_fill\/f_webp\" type=\"image\/webp\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-20260731-103658.jpg?c=original&amp;q=w_860,c_fill\" alt=\"A Skytraders rescue crew landed in Antarctica in pitch black conditions to evacuate a US national.\" class=\"image_large__dam-img image_large__dam-img--loading\" onload=\"this.classList.remove('image_large__dam-img--loading')\" onerror=\"imageLoadError(this)\" height=\"933\" width=\"1400\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu000c3b6rwx1d923i@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            The crew reviewed some worst-case scenarios prior to the mission, such as a power outage at the air strip requiring them to land with zero visibility, and carrying extra fuel in case they couldn\u2019t land and needed to return to Australia.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu000d3b6rbv2k8fak@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cIt was a huge amount of concentration and workload, and a lot of mental maths as well, doing cold weather calculations, correcting for the altitude on the approach, and then communication between the flight crew on board,\u201d Robertson said.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu000e3b6raocis5hd@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            \u201cOnce we started to get closer to New Zealand, then that\u2019s when the real relief really kicked in, and we were able to relax a bit and feel more comfortable.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsikysvu000f3b6rm62mi7x9@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            Robertson praised the \u201cteam effort\u201d and said that the mission would not have been possible without clear and coordinated communications between several international teams.\n    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph_elevate\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmsinj32b00013b6rlaj9stks@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n            <em>CNN\u2019s Hilary Whiteman contributed to this report.<\/em>\n    <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A US expeditioner in Antarctica was rescued last month in a daring mid-winter medical evacuation by an Australian aviation team in the middle of crippling temperatures and near pitch-black conditions. The \u201cextraordinary\u201d mission kicked off on July 28, when the Australian Antarctic Division made an \u201curgent request for assistance\u201d for a medical evacuation from the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-ae16914e-9964-46e4-8541-5aa783f2c480.jpg?c=16x9&q=w_800,c_fill","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-trending-viral-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}