An American teenager flying solo across the globe for a great cause has been detained in Antarctica. On the one hand, I feel sort of bad for him, given the amazing cause he’s doing this for. On the other hand, if you break rules, you should expect to face the consequences…
Pilot gets in trouble for flying to Antarctica unauthorized
19-year-old American Ethan Guo is currently attempting to fly to all seven continents solo, on a Cessna 182, which would make him the first person in the world to accomplish that. The passionate aviation geek is trying to do this with the goal of raising $1 million. Ethan’s cousin is battling cancer, so he is trying to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. This is simply an unbelievable effort for a great cause.
Ethan has been sharing details of his months-long quest on Instagram, where he has 1.3 million followers. For example, below is a map with part of his journey so far.
Up until recently, he made it to six of seven continents, with Antarctica being the last continent. The good news is that he finally made it to Antarctica. The bad news is that he has been detained there. Wait, what?!?
According to Cristian Cristoso Rifo, the regional prosecutor of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica, Ethan departed from Punta Arenas Airport (PUQ), near the southernmost point of Chile, and conducted an unauthorized 771-mile flight to Antarctica’s Teniente R. Marsh Airport on King George Island (TNM), which is claimed by Chile as part of its Atlantic territory.
Upon landing there, he was detained. Guo has been charged for violating two articles of the Chilean Aeronautical Code, including one that calls for either imprisonment or a fine brought down on anyone who lands in Chilean territory without legitimate authorization.
According to the prosecutor, he had submitted a flight plan to fly over Punta Arenas, but not farther than that. Ethan is also accused of violating “multiple national and international” rules governing access to Antarctica, and the routes that can be taken to get there. The claim is also that his unauthorized flight posed safety risks for air traffic to the continent.
Ethan’s attorney claims this was a misunderstanding, and that “while already in the air, he began to experience a series of complications,” and he somehow ended up in Antarctica. Lol, right…
What can we really say about this incident?
I’m really struggling with this. I have nothing but respect for Ethan’s amazing goal, and the great cause for which he’s doing so. What a passionate aviation geek, to fly to all seven continents solo. I can’t even imagine the amount of planning and dedication that’s required here.
At the same time, you’ve gotta play within the rules, and you can’t hold it against authorities when they enforce their laws. The problem is, imagine if something had gone wrong with his flight. The rescue efforts would’ve suddenly become Chile’s problem.
Unfortunately you can’t blame Chile for holding him responsible, or else there could be other people who attempt to do the same. I guess the silver lining here is that it sounds like Ethan did accomplish his goal of flying to all seven continents, in the end. Now he just has to pay the price for doing so, whatever form that comes in.
I’m curious how he, and his plane, ultimately end up getting out of Antarctica. Talk about an interesting place to be detained!
Bottom line
An American teenager trying to set a record flying solo to all seven continents hit a snag at the end of his journey, while trying to fly to Antarctica. The 19-year-old made the decision to fly from Punta Arenas to King George Island, so check off his last continent.
The issue is that he didn’t have permission to operate this flight. Instead, he seemingly filed a fake flight plan, and then decided to fly to Antarctica. The claim is that he experienced some complications that caused his flight to end up in Antarctica, though I think we all know that’s not likely to be true.
He is now detained in Antarctica. I’m curious to see how this plays out. I admire the great cause he’s flying for, while I also understand the need to hold him accountable for his disregard of aviation regulations.
What do you make of this Antarctica detention?
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