October 7, 2002 - Rescue at the South Pole

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Rescue at the South Pole

By Captain Mark Cary
October 7, 2002

Click to see pictures.

Antarctica is the world’s coldest, driest, and highest continent. You will find it tucked away at the bottom of every globe and world atlas every made. It is the size of the United States and Mexico combined and is host to many scientists and doctors from around the world who are studying the earth’s history, beauty, and mysteries.

The South Pole’s Admunsen Scott research base is one of several American bases in Antarctica. It is located 1,452 miles from the Rothera British research base at an elevation of 9,300 feet (almost twice the elevation of Denver, Colorado).

During the summer when 24 hours of daylight encompasses the continent and temperatures reach as high as –25° Celsius / -13 Fahrenheit, the research base is home to 250 personnel studying the earth’s ozone depletion and the effects of global warming. Flights frequent the South Pole during the summer months, between November and February, bringing supplies and providing a constant stream of new faces to the world’s remotest location.

During the winter months all of this activity halts due to fierce winter weather. Twenty-four hours of daylight soon dwindles as darkness settles over the continent. Fifty people remain to endure eight months of winter isolation with a satellite phone and email as their only connection to the outside world. The dark winter sky provides a magnificent backdrop for the auroras that light up the night, and scientists are afforded spectacular views of our solar system through high-powered telescopes.

Winter was just beginning to settle over Antarctica in 2001 when the only physician at the South Pole Admunsen Scott research base, Dr. Ronald Shemenski, was diagnosed with a potentially fatal ailment known as pancreatitis. The National Science Foundation (NSF), that provides services to all of the American bases located in Antarctica, initially called the U.S. Air National Guard to request the rescue and transportation of Dr. Shemenski to the United States, where surgery would save his life.

As the temperatures at the South Pole plummeted to -60° C / -76° F, the U.S. Air National Guard called the mission off, stating that their aircraft, a C130 Hercules which relied heavily on hydraulic systems, would not be reliable in an attempt to land at the South Pole.

As part of the NSF’s last hope of rescuing Dr. Shemenski, I received a call on April 9, 2001, inviting me to participate in the rescue mission using a ski-equipped DeHaviland DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft. (The company I worked for was known for making high risk flights around the world.) I accepted the challenge and contacted my Apostolic pastor to advise him of my decision. The pastoral staff prayed with me for a safe and successful mission.

On April 14^th, five days after receiving the initial phone call about the rescue mission, I was on board a Twin Otter aircraft departing at 5 a.m. from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We were headed for the heart of Antarctica with the knowledge that we were Dr. Shemenski’s last chance for rescue. If we succeeded, we would make history as the first plane in history to complete such a daunting and dangerous mission under the 24 hours of perpetual darkness during the Antarctic winter.

During the five-day journey south, we passed through the United States, Central America, and South America, arriving at the port city of Punta Arenas in southern Chile. The Antarctic Peninsula, where the Rothera British research station is located, loomed 880 miles over the Drake Passage, some of the roughest waters in the world. It was decided that two Twin Otter airplanes would make the trip to Rothera, but only one would make the final 10-hour non-stop flight from Rothera to the South Pole. The remaining plane would stay in Rothera to serve as a backup aircraft in the event that the first aircraft went down en route. Two days later, with the station’s replacement doctor on board, we set out for Rothera where we intended to stage our final flight to the South Pole.

For two and a half days the two crews readied the aircraft for the final voyage. On the afternoon of April 24, 2001, the 36-hour window of flyable weather that we were looking for had arrived. At 2 p.m. local time in Rothera, Captain Sean Loutitt, Engineer Norman Wong, the physician, and I set out on the 1,452-mile journey south into a land covered with ice, snow, and a blanket of 24-hour darkness.

Three hours into our flight the last of an amazing sunset disappeared behind the aircraft. We levelled the plane at 10,500 feet, the cruising altitude we had chosen for the entire trip. Six hours into our journey we reached the point of no return. This is the point at which you have enough fuel to safely turn the aircraft around to retrace your flight back to the departure point or you must continue to your destination. Once you have passed the point of no return, there is no turning back. You must continue regardless of what comes your way because you do not have enough fuel to return to the departure point. We made the decision to continue on to our destination despite receiving a forecast stating that the weather could possibly take a turn for the worst.

It was at that moment that I closed my eyes and rendered my life entirely into God’s hands, realizing that only He could control the weather. On a trip of this magnitude we had contingency plans for everything; however, the one thing we couldn’t plan for was the weather. The other pilot and I prayed together that God would continue to be with us and keep our crew safe for the rest of the journey.

Fifteen miles from the South Pole, through blowing ice crystals, I finally sighted the glow of several 45-gallon barrels of burning debris. The barrels were being used to light a ski-way for the aircraft to land on. And that’s how we managed to make the world’s first landing in total darkness on Antarctica. The temperature at the South Pole was -68° C / -90° F. (At this temperature exposed skin will freeze to metal instantly.) We had arrived at the bottom of the world!

To make our 17-hour stay at the South Pole possible in these freezing temperatures, 50 station members worked countless hours to prepare electrical cords wrapped in heated tape, kept fuel heated for our return trip, and heated a trailer to store the aircraft batteries. After the engines were shut down and covered in engine tents (specially designed “sleeping bags” for aircraft engines) and all electrical cords were plugged in to provide heat to the engine oils and hydraulics, we set off to get some rest before our return trip.

In preparation for departure, we used gas-powered heaters to blow large quantities of hot air through ducts to the engines and hydraulic bay compartments. After five hours, we were satisfied that the aircraft was warm enough to start. The crew, along with the ailing Dr. Shemenski, boarded the plane, and we prepared for departure from the South Pole en route to Rothera.

However, due to the weight of the aircraft, the density altitude, and the friction between the snow surface and the aircraft skis, we were unable to move despite applying full power to the engines. At moments like these it is necessary to improvise in order to get the job done. Our crew needed to find a solution to a problem that could potentially keep us at the South Pole for the next six months. Our window of opportunity for departure would not stay open indefinitely as winter’s icy grip closed around this remote section of the Antarctica.

The solution came in the form of a D6 Cat backed up to one of the wingtips. Four men climbed on top of the Cat and began to rock the wingtip causing the entire aircraft to rock from side to side. This action provided enough of a momentum shift to break the skis from the frozen ground under full engine power and we began to move. Taxiing for 7,000 feet we gained speed for takeoff. At last we lifted off the snow, heading for the black sky ahead as the burning barrels faded in the distance behind us.

The challenge with flying and navigating from the South Pole is that every direction leading away from it will take you due North. We had to be certain that when we departed the South Pole we were heading North to Rothera and the South American continent as opposed to Africa or Australia. The global positioning systems installed on the aircraft enable us to fly to any point on the earth with pinpoint accuracy. We put this system to the test!

Several hours into the return trip to Rothera we received a gift from God confirming that the flight path we had taken was correct. On the horizon ahead, a faint line began to form culminating in the most beautiful sunrise I have ever witnessed in my life. As we flew, the sunrise became more prominent until it spanned the horizon and then, just as quickly as it appeared, it dispersed. Although we didn’t see the sun itself, we felt it was God’s way of showing us His awesome power and authority. It was all we needed to verify that we were headed toward Rothera and the completion of our journey.

First and foremost, I want to thank God for keeping His hand upon us during the trip. Second, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who prayed for us. I realize that there were churches from all across the nation praying for our safe return. As the Old Testament instructs, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Finally, Dr. Shemenski is doing well. When he initially returned to the United States, test results showed that he had also suffered from a mild heart attack to go along with his pancreatitis while he was at the pole. Surgery was performed and he came out fine. He is now the medical director for a facility located in Denver. So our trip was not in vain.

Click to see pictures.

ninetyandnine.com

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Captain Mark Cary is a member of the First United Pentecostal Church of Saint John, New Brunswick, pastored by Reverend Edward Goddard. Following the successful completion of the rescue mission at the South Pole, Mark, and the members of the crew received the Meritorious Service Medal issued by the Governor General of Canada, Adrianne Clarkson.