Race against Antarctic winter: Crew pulls off daring rescue in one of Earth's most extreme environments

In a race against Antarctic winter, air crew pulls off daring rescue in one of the most extreme environments on Earth.

Three people were airlifted from Antarctica in a high-risk rescue mission this week, after medical emergencies at a remote U.S. research base required urgent evacuation through some of the harshest flying conditions on the planet.

The mission, conducted by the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF), involved a non-stop round trip of nearly 20 hours through total darkness, subzero temperatures and highly volatile weather. The C-130J Hercules aircraft departed from Christchurch, New Zealand, on Tuesday, flew more than 2,400 miles south to McMurdo Station, the largest U.S. research base in Antarctica, and returned early Wednesday morning.

According to New Zealand officials, one person aboard McMurdo Station required immediate medical care, and two others needed additional medical attention. A military doctor accompanied the crew on the flight to care for all three evacuees during the return journey.

The evacuation was requested by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), which operates McMurdo Station. Although the station can house over 1,000 people during peak summer months, fewer than 200 remain through the Antarctic winter, when the base is plunged into 24-hour darkness and isolation.

“This mission wasn’t just difficult; it was one of the most technically demanding operations an aircrew can face,” said U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Melissa Sweeney in a statement from the U.S. Embassy in New Zealand. “In extreme conditions, with little margin for error, the RNZAF executed this mid-winter Antarctic medevac flawlessly.”

Air Commodore Andy Scott, who oversees air operations for the RNZAF, explained that winter missions to Antarctica are among the most dangerous the force undertakes. Crews can only fly after intense weather analysis and coordination with the U.S. Antarctic Program Winter Team, which must manually prepare a runway carved into the ice.

“Although they determine it is safe, it’s still an extremely challenging environment to fly in on night vision goggles due to the extreme weather conditions,” Scott said. “They are highly changeable at this time of year and make accurate forecasting a challenge.”

Once the aircraft passes a certain point south, there are no alternate airfields to which the plane can divert, which leads to a “point of no return” that adds to the stakes. Upon landing at McMurdo, the crew performed a “hot refuel,” keeping the engines running to prevent freezing while the patients were loaded aboard.

The full mission from liftoff to touchdown took about 19.5 hours. The rescue was the third of its kind that the RNZAF has completed since 2021.

“This required absolute precision,” Sweeney said. “It was daring, dangerous, and deeply courageous. This is the kind of mission that tests every ounce of skill and bravery. RNZAF delivered, just as they always do.”

McMurdo Station sits on the southern tip of Ross Island and is often unreachable in winter, when temperatures can plunge lower than 90 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Nighttime is constant this time of year, and landings must be done using specialized goggles and instruments in a terrain of snow, ice and wind-blasted open space.

“These missions are not taken lightly,” Scott said.

The three patients are now receiving care in Christchurch. Their current conditions have not been released.

While Antarctica is known for its isolation and beauty, researchers say the risks are ever-present, especially in winter.

“It has to be life-threatening,” said Peter Doran, a geology professor at Louisiana State University who has worked in Antarctica for nearly three decades. “Because you’re threatening the lives of the people in the military planes that are coming down.”

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