Antarctic Medevac Operation

[mike carey]

In a challenging operation, a patient was evacuated today from the US McMurdo Station in Antarctica. An RNZAF C-130 flew the eight hour trip from Christchurch and refuelled with its engines running before its return flight. McMurdo Station is at 77 degrees south, and a week after the winter solstice it's well inside the period of 24 hour darkness. BZ.

RNZAF carries out rare Antarctica mid-winter medical evacuation flight

WWW.NZDF.MIL.NZ

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A Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) C-130H Hercules crew has today carried out a rare medical evacuation of a...

 

[+ nycman]

Super cool (literally), but an "extremely dangerous" evacuation of an American national with a "non-life threatening" medical condition?

Somethings not adding up.

It kind of reeks of an overblown wonky PR stunt. 

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

This happened three separate times during the last Antarctic season on Viking's expedition ships, the Polaris and Octantis.

Granted, if you're doing this kind of thing, you should be well-insured for evac (in this case, chopper) coverage. 

Let this be a lesson for anyone consider these routes.

[wsc]

The linked information stated "The patient, an American from McMurdo Station, is in a stable condition with a non-life threatening condition. However, they require medical treatment that cannot be carried out in Antarctica."

The McMurdo Station is located on Ross Island and is accessible from the sea, so long as the weather is agreeable. So, what other evacuation options are available, aside from the RNZAF C-130, for a non-life threatening condition? Water taxi? How do people routinely move to and fro the Station?

Nonetheless, an impressive operation by the RNZAF.

[Luv2play]

This story resonates with me as the person in charge of this  rescue mission was an Air Commodore Scott. I read “Scott’s Last Expedition” last winter, a harrowing tale of brutal weather in Antarctica that doomed the expedition of British explorer Sir Robert Scott in 1912. It is and remains a truly hostile environment for humans.