Adventurer stranded in Antarctica [US don't run a gas station in Antarctica]

BBC News ^ | ???

[Russian Sage]

Adventurer stranded in Antarctica

 The first person to fly a home-built single-engine plane over the South Pole has got stranded in Antarctica.

Australian Jon Johanson was forced to land his RV-4 plane at a US base when it ran short of fuel.

But both the Americans and a nearby New Zealand base refuse to give him the fuel, saying they do not want to encourage tourism in the Antarctic.

Mr Johanson flew over the South Pole after travelling 5,880 km in just over 24 hours from New Zealand.

The adventurer had planned to continue to Argentina, but strong headwinds ate into his fuel reserves.

This forced Mr Johanson to land on Tuesday at the US McMurdo base, just a few kilometres from New Zealand's Scott base, to ask for more fuel.

But both bases refused to provide him with the required 400 litres (104 gallons) to return to New Zealand.

"The US actually don't run a gas station in Antarctica... and nor does New Zealand," Antarctica New Zealand Chief Executive Lou Sanson told the Associated Press news agency.

"He appears to have gone in there without a search and rescue plan and without a contingency plan if things go wrong, and he's expecting the New Zealand and United States Governments to pick up and be his contingency," Mr Sanson added.

He said the Americans provided Mr Johanson with food and shelter and that New Zealanders had offered to fly him home "on the first available flight".

"And we can make arrangements to ship his plane out at his cost," Mr Sanson said.

But Mr Johanson partner, Sue Ball, said he was reluctant to leave his plane, in which he had previously flown around the world three times, including over the North Pole.

[zarf]

Cool dude.

[Russian Sage]

Good thing Lindie didn't have to divert to Thule.

[Travis McGee]

Sanctimonious pricks. What happened to cheering on the spirit of adventure? Sailors, often solo sailors, have frequently been dismasted or capsized in the Southern Ocean, and they have always been provided every available help within reason to get them repaired and on their way. What's the difference here? This is a one time deal by a guy who's flown around the world 3 times in his own small plane. It's not like he was bringing in 20 mangy eco-tourists on a paid tour.

[clee1]

Travis, come on buddy!

This fool took off, ill-prepared, and flew into the most isolated and forbidding area of the planet. He should have prepared for the possibility of fuel shortage and/or headwinds and provided his own recovery team. This whole stunt was HIS responsibility.

He was taken in, housed and fed - and will be flown back to NZ as space permits. I think that is as far as "humanitarian" assistance needs to go. His plane and his fuel is his own problem.

[Travis McGee]

He was off by 100 gallons of fuel. Nobody had to mount a rescue operation to find him (which happens constantly in yacht racing.)

So are you for banning ocean yacht racing, because of the cost of rescue operations? I assure you, they cost a million times more than 100 gallons of fuel.

And give the guy a break, he's not an unprepared crank, he's flown around the world 3 times for goodness sakes!

[Russian Sage]

He seems to have had a reasonable plan to divert to McMurdo.

I'm not an aviator, so I don't know what's normally expected of a pilot, but do they need to contact every possible divert base and arrange for emergency fuel in advance?

If this were a matter of fuel not being available or in too short supply, that would be one thing. But it appears they won't give him the fuel just because they resent him showing up. The only thing he didn't plan on was that the base folk are jerks.

[clee1]

OK. I'll try to cut the guy some slack.

I still wonder why he was flying a small plane in Anarctica w/o a support crew.

[Prodigal Son]

"And we can make arrangements to ship his plane out at his cost," Mr Sanson said.

Hmmm. They ought to just sell him some fuel. He's paying either way right? Sell him some fuel, he flies his plane out and he's outta their hair.

[Dosa26]

It's not like he was bringing in 20 mangy eco-tourists on a paid tour.

I'm all for personal adventure, but maybee they're afraid that if they were to just gas him up and send him on his way they would end up with people thinking they could "chance it" for fun or profit.

Personally if I had the gas I would sell it to him, but I don't have to run a base in the antarctic.

[clee1]

but do they need to contact every possible divert base and arrange for emergency fuel in advance? No, not for "routine" flights between normal airports. An emergency can be declared and that will allow landing at normally closed or restricted airfields. ICAC regulations stipulate that all nations must assist in recovery operations of downed aircraft and crews. However, I had a friend that had to declare an emergency and land at McDill AFB in Tampa; they rolled the crash trucks out and my friend landed w/o incident. However, the military would not let him take off after the problem was found and corrected. He had to get a truck/trailer to come onto the base to tow him to the Tampa airport - and his wings had to be removed so it could travel on the roads. This "emergency" cost my friend about $15,000. I believe McMurdo Sound is controlled by the military, and it certainly is not a regular use airport. This fellow should not have counted on it as a "divert" base.

[maica]

I have to disagree with you, Travis. As the world gets smaller and the eco-challenges get wilder, there are some who want their adventure and the Coast Guard/Search and Rescue/Military to be their backup plan. I think providing him with food, shelter, and transport is the correct responsl.

I have heard of yachties, who when rescued by a diverted commercial ship, get offended if the ship won't save their yacht as well as their life.


Skiers in Vancouver openly discussed the 'good snow' that was to be found when going out of bounds. Regularly, skiers who skied out of bounds for the thrill had to be rescued by others risking their lives, until the SAR unts started charging a steep fee/fine for the rescue.

Suddenly, the number of skiers needing rescue went Way down.

[DH]

"And give the guy a break, he's not an unprepared crank, he's flown around the world 3 times for goodness sakes!"

And what does this guy do for a living? My guess that he certainly does not work for a living...could it possibly be "bumming around"?

[KO5A]

"However, the military would not let him take off after the problem was found and corrected. He had to get a truck/trailer to come onto the base to tow him to the Tampa airport - and his wings had to be removed so it could travel on the roads. This "emergency" cost my friend about $15,000."

Another good reason not to have a standing army in peacetime- In addition to being dangerous to liberty, they are useless.

[maica]

possibly be "bumming around"?
^^^^


- and expecting others to support him because of his charm and interesting tales! I agree with you.

[Travis McGee]

Why do solo sailors sail non-stop around the world? They do, all the time. This guy just likes to do it in small planes.

[Travis McGee]

If he can afford to keep up his planes, (obviously, 3X around the world), he is not a bum. Perhaps he writes books or is a stock trader? Who knows? Richard Branson and others like to float about in balloons, they are hardly bums.

[Travis McGee]

We're just talking about 100 gallons of fuel for a very professional and experienced pilot adventurer. He didn't put anybody out, no rescue was mounted. By your reasoning, private ocean sailing must be banned immediately.

[shaggy eel]

,,, I heard a report on this about two hours ago on New Zealand's NATIONAL RADIO.

Aussie has a chain store millionaire called Dick Smith - he's like a downunder Radio Shack equivalent. He's flown around the world by helicopter and he threw his two cents into this morning's report by phone. Aviating by helicopter isn't the safest choice, so I assumed up to now that Dick would have known better, but no... he offered confirmation that money and common sense aren't an interface.

He immediately attacked the US by stating that the US has a base at McMurdo Sound for political reasons and their policy of not supplying fuel was appalling etc.

I've always thought that even crossing a road takes an element of planning. Others who have done the trans-polar glory trek have been smart enough to stash an adequate fuel dump in case of headwinds or any other reason. New Zealand, Australia, the US and Italy are some nations that have scientists and staff on the ice right now. Their provisions are calculated with margins built in and they arrive in Antarctica at great cost.

The spirit of adventure is an awesome thing, but it stands taller when it's not mixed with the element of stupidity.

There is no Mobil, Shell, BP, Challenge or Caltex down there. The territory has never been sold as a convenience stop or drop in centre either. The Yanks, Kiwis and Aussies are justified in setting this precident.

[Arthalion]

Who said anything about banned? All I've seen from the statements on this thread is the belief that this guy should have planned better and taken some responsibility for his own safety. He's obviously not poor, so there's no reason why he couldn't have put some contingency plans in place and researched his options a little. I'm not even a licensed pilot and I know how badly headwinds can screw up your fuel economy. If this guy really flew around the world, then he's obviously an experienced pilot who should have been aware that this type of thing could happen. If he planned to land at one of these stations as his contingency, then he should have checked to verify that they had the capacity and willingness to help him. One email could have saved this guy a LOT of time and trouble...he'd have been aware that he'd need to have parts and fuel standing by in the event that he didn't make it. But no, he couldn't be bothered with that...he simply ASSUMED that he'd be given whatever assistance he needed by the government. I applaud the guys adventuring spirit, but he really dug his own hole here.