South Pole landings a 'challenge,' says former Kenn Borek pilot

Sean Loutitt knows what it's like to pull off a risky mission like the medical evacuation currently underway in the South Pole.

• Calgary's Kenn Borek Air heads out on medical rescue mission at Antarctic station

While working for Kenn Borek Air years ago, Loutittflew multiple missions similar to the one that began this weekendto extract a seasonal employee at the Amundsen-Scott research station who requires hospitalization and must be flown out.

"It is definitely a bit of a challenge to be operating on a continent unsupported," says Loutitt, a former resident of Yellowknifewho's now a senior manager with Canadian North,based in Calgary.

This weekend's mission involved two planes flying from Chile to theRothera research station, with one of those planes continuing on to the Amundsen-Scott station.

The latter leg takes about 1,380 nautical miles, or 10 hours, depending on the weather.

Point of no return

Besides contending with temperatures as low as 70 C, the crew will have to make some difficult choices.

"There's no other airports on the continent or landing area that would be lit that they can divert to," says Loutitt.

"So when they leave Rothera, they'll have about 12 to 13 or so hours of fuel, which means they can't go from Rothera to the South Pole and come back to Rothera if they couldn't land at the South Pole.

"So somewhere along their flight, they will have a point where they still have enough fuel to turn around and go back to Rathura and land."

And then there are Antarctic's unpredictable weather patterns, which make forecasts dicey at best.

"The Antarctic is definitely a place where the weather can change," says Loutitt.

Challenges aside, however, the Twin Ottersbeing used in the rescue operation are up to the task, says Loutitt.

"The Twin Otter is a very reliable aircraft, its the engines, with very few issues, and Kenn Borek Air does very good maintenance."

On Monday, officials said the weather wouldhave to improve before the planes could complete the mission. The aircraft were on the ground in Punta Arenas, Chile, waiting to proceed to the British Antarctic Survey station at Rothera.