American evacuated from Antarctica in midwinter darkness

In a rare and complex midwinter operation, an American expedition member was successfully evacuated from Antarctica and transported to a hospital in New Zealand last week. The mission, conducted on July 31 by the Australian aviation company Skytraders in coordination with the Australian Antarctic Division, involved flying an Airbus A319 into complete darkness and extreme cold to reach the U.S. McMurdo Station.

The urgent request for a medical evacuation was received from the U.S. Antarctic Program. Skytraders deployed its specialized aircraft, known as Snowbird 1, from Hobart, Tasmania. The flight, which departed in the early hours of July 31 during a narrow weather window, took approximately five and a half hours to reach Phoenix Airfield near McMurdo. Landing conditions were severe, with temperatures plunging to minus 43 degrees Celsius (minus 45.4 degrees Fahrenheit) and no sunlight to guide the approach. The crew had only minimal "nautical twilight," which one pilot described as essentially pitch blackness.

After landing on a three-kilometer runway of compacted snow prepared by a ground team, the patient was transferred aboard. The aircraft remained on the ground for exactly...