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Antarctic evacuation planned for Oct. 15

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (AFPN) -- More than 30 members of the New York Air National Guard hoped for more favorable weather in Antarctica later this week so they could fly a woman physician out from the South Pole.

The woman discovered a lump in one of her breasts earlier this year, the National Science Foundation has reported.

"The physician, Dr. Jerri Nielsen, has been carrying out her normal responsibilities since the Air Force airdrop of medical supplies in July," Dr. Karl Erb, director of the NSF's Office of Polar Programs, stated Oct. 5. "Her stateside physicians are now recommending to us that she be returned to the United States at the earliest safe opportunity."

Flight crews from the Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing, based here, are prepared to do just that, because that wing flies the ski-equipped LC-130 cargo planes that carry people and cargo to the U.S. Antarctic Program's research base run by the science foundation.

Two of those planes have flown from Christchurch, New Zealand, to McMurdo Station on the Antarctic coast, the Associated Press reported Oct. 13. One of the planes will make the 874-mile flight to pick up the woman at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and fly her to New Zealand when weather permits.

A flight planned for Oct. 14, 17 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time, was delayed for 24 hours because of cold temperatures, said Air Force Capt. Victor Hines, public affairs officer for Pacific Air Forces.

The mission has captured the attention of people around the world who have been aware of the American woman's situation on the world's coldest and most forbidding continent since last July.

"She, like the other 40 support staff personnel, are unable to leave the South Pole outpost until the austral winter ends and weather conditions permit an aircraft to land and take off," Dr. Rita Colwell, the National Science Foundation's director, explained July 13.

"The onset of summer in Antarctica, with its gradual increase in sunlight and temperature makes it feasible to evacuate Dr. Nielsen and to replace her with another physician," Erb stated.

An Air Force C-141 cargo plane airdropped six bundles of medical supplies and equipment at the station early on the morning of July 11, the NSF reported, so the doctor could begin to help herself until the Air National Guard could help to bring her home.

"We are working hard to execute this around-the-world mission, and also prepare for an arduous season in Antarctica," Col. Edward Fleming, the 109th's vice commander, reported earlier this week.

The two planes arrived in New Zealand Oct. 10 and then flew the 2,488 miles to McMurdo. The next phase of the operation involves picking up the doctor and leaving the other physician in her place when the Antarctic temperatures climb higher than 58 degrees below zero.

Aircraft do not operate well in extremely low temperatures, Hines told the Associated Press in New Zealand.

"The hydraulics tend to get very sluggish ... and hydraulics are critical to operate flaps, landing gear; all the things you need to land the aircraft."

Temperatures are reportedly rising at the South Pole, where the sunlight is now lasting for up to 20 hours each day.

Flying time for the 6,724-mile round-trip adventure will take at least 22 hours, estimated Maj. Bob Bullock, the 109th wing's public affairs officer.

"Safety is our paramount consideration for planning and executing this mission," said Bullock.

The New York Air National Guard wing, now commanded by Col. Graham Pritchard Jr., has been routinely flying cargo and personnel to Arctic and Antarctic military and scientific research installations since 1975.

The 109th began assisting the Navy's specialized flying unit with flights to Antarctic research bases in 1988 and took over that mission from the Navy in the fall of 1998.