Australian mercy mission Airbus lands in Antarctic
Source: Brisbane Times
Australian mercy mission Airbus lands in Antarctic
Date August 9, 2012 - 12:21PM
A three-nation mission to fly a patient from the US McMurdo station is under way in the depths of an Antarctic winter.
An Australian aircraft has landed at McMurdo's Pegasus ice runway to pick up the ailing US expeditioner after a five-hour flight from Christchurch in New Zealand, the Environment Department's Antarctic Division said.
The flight was timed to arrive in midday twilight on the specially groomed runway, one of few in the Antarctic that can take a wheeled landing by the Australian Airbus A319.
Despite the polar darkness and hostile conditions, the US is able to clear access at its McMurdo base for much of the year.
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