A Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130J crew is being celebrated for a mid-winter ice runway rescue of three sick people at the U.S.’s McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The Air Force said it was asked by the U.S. to conduct the rescue in the complete darkness of winter with threatening weather. The temperature was -11° Fahrenheit when the crew put down on the ice runway to pick up the trio, one of whom was critically ill.
“(It is) an extremely challenging environment to fly in on night vision goggles due to the extreme weather conditions, which are highly changeable at this time of year and makes accurate forecasting a challenge,” Andy Scott, a New Zealand Air Commodore, told Reuters. The mission took about 20 hours in total and the aircraft landed back in Christchurch on Wednesday. The RNZAF performed similar operations in 2021 and 2024.
A top U.S. official was effusive in her thanks to the crew. “We are so very grateful,” said the U.S. Chargé d’Affaires for New Zealand, Melissa Sweeney. “Our Kiwi partners didn’t hesitate to undertake this mission in one of the most unforgiving environments on Earth. Their skill and readiness are truly world-class.”
Just to pick nits (and demonstrate that you have engaged readers); the photo on the article is a C-130H, not a J, as was used in this flight. I’m reasonably sure that the RNZAF has retired all of their H’s.
Time does fly, along with C130s. I remember when B’s showed up at Clark first time. Had 4 bladed props. The A’s just had 3 blades.