As winter darkness falls across Antarctica and temperatures plunge to 90 degrees below zero, the National Science Foundation is racing to mobilize the rescue of an ailing doctor at the South Pole before it is too cold for anyone to safely land or take off from the world's most remote human outpost. Although he appears to be recovering, he still may need major surgery. We are in the process of examining a range of options to determine the very best means of ensuring his health and safety. The propeller aircraft operated by the 109th Airlift Wing of New York Air National Guard are the only large planes in the world able to land safely on the South Pole's snow runway. But they cannot operate below minus 66 degrees, when it becomes so cold that electrical cables shatter and metal parts crack.
Aviation fuel turns to jelly.
The low temperature at the South Pole today was expected to be minus 65. With no conventional air traffic control, only rudimentary weather forecasts, and no runway lights, air operations at the South Pole are considered risky even during the daylight months of the polar summer. With little warning, fliers in winter can find themselves blinded in the swirling fog of ice crystals and snow of a white-out condition. The only landing option under those circumstances is a controlled crash. The combination of cold and darkness make air operations even more hazardous, said Maj.