New York Air National Guard Airmen Speak to Media About South Pole Evacuation Flight

New York Air National Guard Airmen Speak to Media About South Pole Evacuation Flight
109th Airlift Wing Aircrew Flew Burned Fishermen from Antarctica to New Zealandby New York State Division of Military & Naval Affairs



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Major Josh Neilson (left) and Tech Sgt. Randy Powell played a role in the evacuation of fishermen badly injured off the Antarctic coast on Jan. 11, 2012 (Photo by Master Sgt. Corine Lombardo). Tech Sgt. Randy Powell, a C-130 loadmaster, demonstrates how a stretcher is rigged. (Photo by Master Sgt. Corine Lombardo)
full size STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, SCOTIA, NY (01/20/2012)(readMedia)-- An LC-130 Hercules "Ski Bird" belonging to the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing evacuated seven badly burned crew members of a South Korean ship from the United States McMurdo Station in Antarctica to Christchurch, New Zealand on Jan 13.

The seven crew members--four Vietnamese and three Indonesians--were injured when the crew compartment of the 167–foot long fishing vessel Jeong Woo 2 caught fire in the Ross Sea, 372 miles from McMurdo Station and 2,301 miles from New Zealand on Wednesday, Jan. 11.

"Most days we transport cargo and passengers to a variety of outposts. On this day, we were the ambulance driver," said Major Josh Neilson, the plane's pilot.

Neilson and Tech Sgt. Randy Powell, the loadmaster on the flight, spoke to Albany, NY-area reporters about the incident during a press conference on Friday, Jan. 20. They outlined the wing's role in the rescue.

The wing provides logistic support to National Science Foundation research efforts in Antarctica and Greenland.

Nearby vessels rescued 37 of the 40 crewmembers from South Korea, Vietnam, Russia and Indonesia. Three crewmembers died.

Responding to a request by the New Zealand Rescue Coordination Center, the National Science Foundation research vessel, the Nathaniel B. Palmer, transported the injured crewmen from the Jeong Woo 2, to McMurdo Station, the United States Antarctic Program's main research and logistical hub. Medical personnel at McMurdo then prepared the individuals for transport to Christchurch.

"When we loaded the patients, you could see the apprehension on their faces, knowing they had been rescued from a burning ship, flown by helicopter to the ice cap and loaded onto a C-130 with skis was way out of their routine," Tech Sgt. Randy Powell, the crew's loadmaster said.

"They didn't speak English so our only way to communicate was with hand signals. The thumbs up and smiles we received after the 2,300 mile, 8 ½ hour flight was a clear sign they were grateful and relieved to be rescued," Powell said.

The New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing, based here, flies the only ski-equipped aircraft in the United States Military.

This is not the first time the 109th Airlift Wing has been involved in rescue missions.

In November 2008 a crew from the 109th Airlift Wing transported an Australian Antarctic Division employee from Antarctica to Hobart, Australia after the Australian researcher suffered multiple fractures to his leg.

And in 1999 a crew from the 109th landed an LC-130 at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station to pick up Dr. Jerri Nielsen who was treating herself for breast cancer. The crew landed earlier in the Arctic spring than had ever been done in the past.