History Made at the South Pole

For the hundreds of researchers and support staff stationed at the bottom of the earth, annual re-supply flights are a critical necessity of life. Those flights, which bring much of the food, clothing, and scientific supplies that South Pole researchers use throughout the year, generally occur at the start of the Antarctic summer — late October to early November. But before those flights can begin, an FAA Aviation Systems Standards team must go in and certify the equipment that helps pilots land their aircraft on the icy airfields that serve the National Science Foundation's McMurdo Station, America's primary Antarctic research center, and other South Pole outposts. In the past, inspection crews and equipment have hitched a ride on military C-130 transport planes to flight check the equipment, collectively known as navaids, that allow pilots to land in bad weather, low-visibility conditions. This year, however, the agency made history by flying a fully equipped FAA Challenger 601 to the South Pole, and conducting the entire flight inspection on its own. The navaids inspections went off without a hitch, as did the crew's stay at McMurdo Station.