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 Air Guard crew plays vital role in South Pole evacuation By New York National Guard report
 SCOTIA, N.Y. - A New York Air Guard LC-130 Hercules "Ski Bird" belonging to the 109th Airlift Wing evacuated seven severely burned crew members of the South Korean ship Jeong Woo 2, from McMurdo Station, Ross Island in Antarctica to Christchurch, New Zealand Jan. 13. The seven crew members - four Vietnamese and three Indonesians - were injured when the crew compartment of their 167-foot long fishing vessel caught fire in the Ross Sea, 372 miles from McMurdo Station and 2,301 miles from New Zealand on Jan. 11. "Most days we transport cargo and passengers to a variety of outposts. On this day, we were the ambulance driver," said Air Force Major Josh Neilson, the plane's pilot, referring to the wing's primary mission of support to the National Science Foundation research efforts in Antarctica and Greenland. Responding to a request by the New Zealand Rescue Coordination Center, the National Science Foundation research vessel, the Nathaniel B. Palmer, transported the injured crewmen from the Jeong Woo 2 to McMurdo Station, the United States Antarctic Program's main research and logistical hub. Medical personnel at McMurdo then prepared the individuals for transport to Christchurch. "When we loaded the patients, you could see the apprehension on their faces, knowing they had been rescued from a burning ship, flown by helicopter to the ice cap and loaded onto a C-130 with skis was way out of their routine," said Air Force Tech Sgt. Randy Powell, the crew's loadmaster for the flight. "They didn't speak English so our only way to communicate was with hand signals. The thumbs up and smiles we received after the 2,300 mile, eight and a half hour flight was a clear sign they were grateful and relieved to be rescued," Powell said. Nearby vessels rescued 37 of the 40 crew members from South Korea, Vietnam, Russia and Indonesia. Three crew members died. The New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing, based here, flies the only ski-equipped aircraft in the United States military. This is not the first time the 109th Airlift Wing has been involved in rescue missions. In November 2008 a crew from the 109th Airlift Wing transported an Australian Antarctic Division employee from Antarctica to Hobart, Australia after the Australian researcher suffered multiple fractures to his leg. In 1999, a crew from the 109th landed an LC-130 at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station to pick up Dr. Jerri Nielsen who was treating herself for breast cancer. The crew landed earlier in the Arctic spring than anyone had ever done in the past.
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