http://www.boston.com/dailynews/114/world/Plane_takes_off_to_rescue_sick:.shtml

Plane takes off to rescue sick American doctor at South Pole

By Kevin Gray, Associated Press, 4/24/2001 12:16

PUNTA ARENAS, Chile (AP) A propeller plane took off Tuesday to rescue a sick American doctor at the South Pole, after raging winds and blinding snow that had caused days of delays eased enough to attempt the perilous flight.

The flight from Rothera base on the coast across from Chile came hours after a New Zealand air force plane successfully evacuated 11 American staffers from a research station on the other side of Antarctica.

Antarctica's harsh, dark winter conditions usually preclude flights in or out after late February. But rescuers in both operations were forced to move by health emergencies at the isolated, frigid stations on the bottom of the world.

''They're off,'' said Valerie Carroll, a spokeswoman for Raytheon Polar Services, after the eight-seat Twin Otter plane departed at 10:34 a.m. EDT from Rothera for the 10-hour flight to the pole to retrieve Dr. Ronald S. Shemenski at the Amundsen Scott-South Pole station.

Blowing snow and low visibility had postponed the flight for two days. But Carroll said clear skies and improved conditions at the pole allowed the departure.

The plane, fitted with skis for landing on a sheet of ice, would reach a point of ''safe return'' at 4:30 p.m. EDT, she said. At that point, the pilots would decide if conditions would allow them to continue on to the South Pole, where they would refuel for the flight back with Shemenski.

Shemenski, 59, the only physician among 50 researchers working at the Amundsen Scott-South Pole station, recently suffered a gall bladder attack and has been diagnosed with the potentially life-threatening condition known as pancreatitis.

Flights to the South Pole station are normally halted from late February until November because of the extreme winter cold and darkness. But the rescuers worried that Shemenski's condition would worsen in the coming months, when an airlift out of the South Pole would be virtually impossible.

Similarly, rescuers were also forced to move quickly to evacuate four ill Americans at McMurdo Antarctic Base on the opposite coast of Antarctica across from New Zealand.

In a 15-hour round-trip journey, a C130 Hercules from Christchurch landed on the base's ice runway. At McMurdo, the plane spent just one hour on the ground to pick up the evacuees and refuel. Its engines were kept running throughout the stopover to prevent them freezing in the air, which was 22 degrees below zero.

John Sherve, New Zealand manager for U.S.-based Polar Services which provides support services at the McMurdo Base described the mass evacuation as ''unprecedented.''

Officials said the mission got a lucky break, leaving New Zealand an hour earlier than scheduled and avoiding deteriorating weather conditions in Antarctica.

''It was very fortunate ... that we got in there on time, and out,'' mission commander John Cummings said.

''The weather was a little bit iffy ... but we managed a quick change down on the ice,'' pilot Nathan McDonald. ''It was a very successful day.''

The four sick Americans were joined on the flight by seven other U.S. staffers, who Sherve said decided to return because of ''family emergencies.'' Two of the evacuees were suffering from ''critical conditions,'' government research group Antarctica New Zealand said in a statement. The two had been transferred to a hospital in Christchurch, where their conditions were stable Tuesday night, the statement said. It gave no further details.

There are 211 Americans left at the base following the evacuation, where they will winter until the next flights, scheduled in late August as Antarctica's spring begins. The evacuation flight carried fresh fruit and vegetables and personal mail to the ice-and-snow-bound base staff.

The off-season rescues are not unprecedented.

In October 1999, Dr. Jerri Nielsen, the lone physician at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was evacuated after she discovered a breast tumor that was diagnosed as cancerous.

Antarctica is home to nearly 90 percent of the world's ice and 70 percent of the globe's fresh water. The third-largest continent, it is one and a half the size of the United States.

Nations including the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France and Argentina carry out experiments at bases dotted across the continent. They are regularly serviced by flights during the summer months but batten down the hatches and reduce staffing for the polar winter.

McMurdo is a few miles from the coast and close to Mount Erebus, Antarctica's only active volcano, into which an Air New Zealand sightseeing plane plowed in 1979, killing all 257 people on board.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001

Answers

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/114/world/Plane_completes_dangerous_re sc:.shtml

Plane completes dangerous rescue of Antarctica researchers

By Ray Lilley, Associated Press, 4/24/2001 07:59

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) A New Zealand air force plane returned safely Tuesday after retrieving four ill Americans and seven other U.S. staffers from a frigid research station near Antarctica's coast the first of two perilous rescue missions to the bottom of the world.

Antarctica's harsh, dark winter conditions usually preclude flights in or out. But their hand forced by the health emergency, the rescuers and their C130 Hercules plane braved a landing and takeoff on McMurdo Antarctic Base's ice runway on the last day of sunshine before the black polar winter.

The plane returned safely to Christchurch, New Zealand late in the day, 15 hours after it had begun its round-trip journey.

Two of the evacuees were suffering from ''critical conditions,'' government research group Antarctica New Zealand said in a statement. The two had been transferred to a hospital in Christchurch, where their conditions were stable Tuesday night, the statement said. It gave no further details.

Hours later, officials hoped to launch a second, riskier mission 800 miles inland to the geographic South Pole to rescue a sick American doctor waiting for urgent treatment. Blowing snow, high winds and low visibility prevented an emergency airlift on Monday.

Officials involved in the first rescue said the mission got a lucky break, leaving an hour earlier than scheduled and avoiding deteriorating weather conditions in Antarctica.

''It was very fortunate ... that we got in there on time, and out,'' mission commander John Cummings said.

At McMurdo, the plane spent just one hour on the ground to pick up the evacuees and refuel. Its engines were kept running throughout the stopover to prevent them freezing in the air, which was 22 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.

''The weather was a little bit iffy ... but we managed a quick change down on the ice,'' pilot Nathan McDonald. ''It was a very successful day.''

All 11 evacuated staffers are employees of Raytheon Polar Services, which provides support services at the McMurdo Base.

John Sherve, New Zealand manager for U.S.-based Raytheon, described the mass evacuation as ''unprecedented.'' He said the seven evacuees who weren't ill had ''family emergencies.''

There are 211 Americans left at the base following the evacuation, where they will winter until the next flights, scheduled in late August as Antarctica's spring begins. The evacuation flight carried fresh fruit and vegetables and personal mail to the ice-and-snow- bound base staff.

At the pole itself, meanwhile, a sick American doctor was awaiting improved weather so a separate rescue mission could be mounted. Ronald S. Shemenski, the only physician among 50 researchers working at the Amundsen Scott-South Pole station, recently suffered a gall bladder attack and has been diagnosed with the potentially life- threatening condition known as pancreatitis.

An eight-seat, twin-engine plane fitted with skis for landing gear was scheduled to fly from the Rothera research station on the Antarctic peninsula to pick up the 59-year-old doctor. The plane arrived at Rothera last week after a flight from Punta Arenas, Chile, accompanied by a backup aircraft.

Flights to the South Pole station are normally halted from late February until November because of the extreme winter cold and darkness. But the rescuers worried that Shemenski's condition would worsen in the coming months, when an airlift out of the South Pole would be virtually impossible.

''The wind's blowing like hell. We're getting reduced visibility and blowing snow. If the winds calm down and there's less cloud cover, we'll get better visibility,'' said Steve Penikett, general manager of Kenn Borek Air Ltd., the Canadian airline company leading the evacuation for the doctor.

Aviation experts say a landing at the South Pole now is especially dangerous with temperatures now 75 degrees below zero 143 below with the wind chill and skies are nearly pitch-black some 20 hours of the day.

The rescue effort is the second in two years.

In October 1999, Dr. Jerri Nielsen, the lone physician at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station was evacuated after she discovered a breast tumor that was diagnosed as cancerous.

Antarctica is home to nearly 90 percent of the world's ice and 70 percent of the globe's fresh water. The third-largest continent, it is one and a half the size of the United States.

Nations including the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, France and Argentina carry out experiments at bases dotted across the continent. They are regularly serviced by flights during the summer months but batten down the hatches and reduce staffing for the polar winter.

McMurdo is a few miles from the coast and close to Mount Erebus, Antarctica's only active volcano, into which an Air New Zealand sightseeing plane plowed in 1979, killing all 257 people on board.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001

Here's another take on recent events in Antarctica:

http://www.enterprisemission.com/antarctica.htm || What is Happening at the South Pole?

"Frankly doctor, we've been receiving reports that a rather serious epidemic has broken out at Clavius. Is this in fact what has happened?"

Dr. Floyd -- "I'm sorry. As I said, I'm not at liberty to discuss it."

(Scene from 2001 - a Space Odyssey, Kubrick's 1968 movie based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke)

I'd read about Lake Vostok before, buried under two miles of ice down there. But I had no idea how big it was -- it's

"the largest lake discovered in the last 100 years -- roughly the size of Lake Ontario but much deeper in places (more than 3000 feet!), with about four times the volume."

But the magnetic anomaly at the SE end of the lake is a new one to me. So is the water temperature --

"The water in the Lake (determined by surface thermal scans) ranges from 50 to 65 degrees F,"

Guess I should've renewed my sub to Scientific American.

Much more on this on the web page, of course. Enjoy.

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001

Hoagland's conjectures dependent on a few too many unverified reports for my liking. But given that I don't tend to trust the established channels much better, worth considering.

Tom, while I've got you here, someone on another board had asked if it was you who had maintained some sort of index of investigated Mars anomalies on the old Hoagland Rowlandnet board, before the Droolboards one. I didn't get around to emailing you about it to ask, couldn't remember if you had or not. If it is, can I pass your email on to her? (It's one of the Dejah Vu folks, and thus trustworthy).

-- Anonymous, April 24, 2001