US teen pilot detained in Antarctica during attempt to fly solo to all seven continents
Ethan Guo, 19, has been accused by Chile of submitting a false flight plan and landing in Antarctica without permission.
Guo hopes his quest, which began last May, will raise $1 million for cancer research and he has been charting his progress on Instagram, where he has over one million followers.
His last post, uploaded on day 142 of the trip on June 23, documented a flight over the Philippines to Manila International Airport.
Guo's run-in with the Chilean authorities occurred on Saturday after he took off from Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Airport in the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas. Flying in a Cessna 182Q aircraft, he was diverted and landed at an airfield in Chilean Antarctic territory.
"The accused provided false information to the aeronautical authority. He submitted a flight plan indicating that he was going to fly over the city of Punta Arenas," Regional Prosecutor Cristian Crisosto Rifo said in a video posted to X.
"However, he continued on his way to Antarctica without any information or authorization, landing at the Lieutenant Rodolfo Marsh Base in Chilean Antarctic territory."
He was detained upon landing at the air base.
A lawyer for Guo told CNN that he experienced "complications" during the flight. Guo began his continent-hopping odyssey in Memphis, Tennessee, making multiple overnight stops and visiting seven countries to get to the Swiss city of Geneva, before flying to Heraklion in Greece.
Since then, he's covered around 25,000 miles every 50 days in a fund-raising bid prompted by a cousin being diagnosed with Stage-4 blood cancer.
Guo — born in Tianjin, China, and currently living in West Palm Beach, Florida — started learning to fly at the age of 13 and got his pilot's license four years later.
Before setting off, Guo revealed that he understood the risks.
He said: "Through my experiences — like an engine failure on the very beginning of the trip... I was forced to face the fact that I could die at any point."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Why Antarctica's tourism boom could spell disaster
The number of tourists heading to Antarctica has been skyrocketing. From fewer than 8,000 a year about three decades ago, nearly 125,000 tourists flocked to the icy continent in 2023–24. The trend is likely to continue in the long term. Unchecked tourism growth in Antarctica risks undermining the very environment that draws visitors. This would be bad for operators and tourists. It would also be bad for Antarctica – and the planet. Over the past two weeks, the nations that decide what human activities are permitted in Antarctica have convened in Italy. The meeting incorporates discussions by a special working group that aims to address tourism issues. It's not easy to manage tourist visitors to a continent beyond any one country's control. So, how do we stop Antarctica being loved to death? The answer may lie in economics. Future visitor trends We recently modelled future visitor trends in Antarctica. A conservative scenario shows by 2033–34, visitor numbers could reach around 285,000. Under the least conservative scenario, numbers could reach 450,000 – however, this figure incorporates pent-up demand from Covid shutdowns that will likely diminish. The vast majority of the Antarctic tourism industry comprises cruise-ship tourism in the Antarctic Peninsula. A small percentage of visitors travel to the Ross Sea region and parts of the continent's interior. Antarctic tourism is managed by an international set of agreements together known as the Antarctic Treaty System, as well as the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). The Treaty System is notoriously slow-moving and riven by geopolitics, and IAATO does not have the power to cap visitor numbers. Pressure on a fragile continent About two-thirds of Antarctic tourists land on the continent. The visitors can threaten fragile ecosystems by: compacting soils trampling fragile vegetation introducing non-native microbes and plant species disturbing breeding colonies of birds and seals. Even when cruise ships don't dock, they can cause problems such as air, water and noise pollution – as well as anchoring that can damage the seabed. Then there's carbon emissions. Each cruise ship traveller to Antarctica typically produces between 3.2 and 4.1 tonnes of carbon, not including travel to the port of departure. This is similar to the carbon emissions an average person produces in a year. Global warming caused by carbon emissions is damaging Antarctica. At the Peninsula region, glaciers and ice shelves are retreating and sea ice is shrinking, affecting wildlife and vegetation. Of course, Antarctic tourism represents only a tiny fraction of overall emissions. However, the industry has a moral obligation to protect the place that maintains it. And tourism in Antarctica can compound damage from climate change, tipping delicate ecosystems into decline. Some operators use hybrid ships and less polluting fuels, and offset emissions to offer carbon-neutral travel. IAATO has pledged to halve emissions by 2050 – a positive step, but far short of the net-zero targets set by the International Maritime Organization. Can economics protect Antarctica? Market-based tools – such as taxes, cap-and-trade schemes and certification – have been used in environmental management around the world. Research shows these tools could also prevent Antarctic tourist numbers from getting out of control. One option is requiring visitors to pay a tourism tax. This would help raise revenue to support environmental monitoring and enforcement in Antarctica, as well as fund research. Such a tax already exists in the small South Asian nation of Bhutan, where each tourist pays a tax of US$100 (A$152) a night. But while a tax might deter the budget-conscious, it probably wouldn't deter high income, experience-driven tourists. Alternatively, a cap-and-trade system would create a limited number of Antarctica visitor permits for a fixed period. The initial distribution of permits could be among tourism operators or countries, via negotiation, auction or lottery. Unused permits could then be sold, making them quite valuable. Caps have been successful at managing tourism impacts elsewhere, such as Lord Howe Island, although there are no trades allowed in that system. Any cap on tourist numbers in Antarctica, and rules for trading, must be based on evidence about what the environment can handle. But there is a lack of precise data on Antarctica's carrying capacity. And permit allocations amongst the operators and nations would need to be fair and inclusive. Alternatively, existing industry standards could be augmented with independent schemes certifying particular practices – for example, reducing carbon footprints. This could be backed by robust monitoring and enforcement to avoid greenwashing. Looking ahead Given the complexities of Antarctic governance, our research finds that the most workable solution is a combination of these market-based options, alongside other regulatory measures. So far, parties to the Antarctic treaty have made very few binding rules for the tourism industry. And some market-based levers will be more acceptable to the parties than others. But doing nothing is not a solution. Darla Hatton MacDonald is a Professor of Environmental Economics at the University of Tasmania. Elizabeth Leane is a Professor of Antarctic Studies at the School of Humanities, University of Tasmania. The authors would like to acknowledge Valeria Senigaglia, Natalie Stoeckl and Jing Tian and the rest of the team for their contributions to the research upon which this article was based.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Teen pilot detained in Antarctica while attempting world record to raise money for cancer charity
This is the moment a U.S. influencer and teen pilot landed without authorisation in Chilean Antarctica, prompting his arrest. Ethan Guo, 19, was flying a Cessna 182 from Punta Arenas on Saturday, June 28, when he diverted from his approved flight plan and touched down at Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin Airport in Antarctica. He appeared before a Chilean judge via video on Sunday, June 29, and claimed technical issues forced the diversion, according to his lawyer. Guo was attempting to become 'the first person in history to fly solo to all seven continents in a small aircraft and raise $1 million for cancer research,' according to his website.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
US teen detained carrying out bold plan to fly solo to seven continents
Teenage pilot Ethan Guo, 19, was detained by Chilean authorities after landing in Antarctica without permission. Guo is accused by Chile of submitting a false flight plan, stating he would fly over Punta Arenas but instead proceeding to Antarctica. He was attempting to become the youngest person to fly solo to all seven continents, a journey he began last May. Guo's flight is part of a fundraising effort to raise $1 million for cancer research, prompted by a cousin's Stage-4 blood cancer diagnosis. He was detained at the Lieutenant Rodolfo Marsh Base in Chilean Antarctic territory; his lawyer stated he experienced "complications" during the flight. US teen pilot detained in Antarctica during attempt to fly solo to all seven continents
