American teen detained in Antarctica whereas making an attempt solo flight to 7 continents
An American teenager was detained on an Antarctic island whereas making an attempt to pilot his small airplane to each continent, stated Chilean authorities, who’ve charged him for allegedly submitting a false flight plan.
Ethan Guo, 19, gained a web-based following by documenting his journey around the globe, which lasted effectively over 100 days and had already taken him to 6 continents previous to the Antarctic voyage, in response to his web site and social media posts.
Guo stated he hoped to grow to be the primary pilot to finish a solo flight throughout all seven continents in a small Cessna, a feat that concurrently goals to lift $1 million for most cancers analysis via St. Jude Kids’s Analysis Hospital. On his website, the teenager cites his cousin’s 2021 most cancers analysis as his supply of inspiration.
Guo’s newest Instagram posts chronicled a part of his path over southeastern Asia. However authorities in South America say he went on to traverse the Pacific Ocean, ending up in Chile earlier than making his approach towards Antarctica.
Jorge Saenz / AP
In keeping with Cristian Cristoso Rifo, the regional prosecutor of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica, Guo departed from the airport within the metropolis of Punta Arenas, close to the southernmost level of Chile, and proceeded to conduct an unauthorized flight to King George Island. Positioned off the Atlantic coast, the island is claimed by Chile as a part of its Atlantic territory.
The younger pilot landed his airplane on the island’s Teniente R. Marsh Airport, the place he was detained, Cristoso stated in a video assertion shared to social media on Monday. The prosecutor’s workplace charged Guo for violating two articles of the Chilean Aeronautical Code, together with one which requires both short-term imprisonment or a high quality introduced down on anybody who lands in Chilean territory with out official authorization. Guo allegedly submitted a flight plan that indicated his plans to fly over Punta Arenas, however not farther than that, in response to Cristoso.
The prosecutor stated that along with his alleged breaches of the aeronautical code, Guo violated “a number of nationwide and worldwide” guidelines governing entry to Antarctica and the routes taken to get there. His unauthorized flight additionally posed security dangers for air visitors to the frozen continent, Cristoso added.
CBS Information has reached out to Guo for remark.
