Antarctic plane crash wreckage spotted, 3 Canadians feared dead
- Thread starter Fred Zed
- Start date
I was afraid this was going to be the case.
Also interesting how even in Antarctica DC-3's just keep chugging along (one is being used to haul supplies to set up a base camp).
Also interesting how even in Antarctica DC-3's just keep chugging along (one is being used to haul supplies to set up a base camp).
Bob Heath's history has involved many well heralded rescues in the most harsh environments and it's a reminder that flying in these corners of the world is never easy. He was one one of the best. The small town of Inuvik has lost a very special resident and it is hard to handle with the sad news today that it is now a recovery mission and not a rescue.
The twin Otter is one tough ancient machine and it can do amazing things.
The twin Otter is one tough ancient machine and it can do amazing things.
I heard the other day they had to turn back the rescue plane cause of 104 mph winds
Something how advance we seem to be but still can not go everywhere in this world
Its also why I'm sick of hearing how we got to preserve the climate just as it is now. There is land under a thick mile sheet of ice down there, likely a ton of oil and other minerals locked away. Its there for a reason and one day it will be ice free--maybe hundreds of thousands of years from now but that is good
Life has went on on Earth for billions of years--we couldn't stop it if we tried. Sure we could kill ourselves off but something else would replace us and other animals. Even if life was pretty much dead for along time, its happen before and somehow life got going once again.
I think its good too that they were unable to drill through the ice in to the lake buried under the ice. Leave it alone--its sealed off. There is lots we don't understand, lets not try to go too fast. A few hundreds years is nothing, what is the rush, what if we screw something up big time ?
Something how advance we seem to be but still can not go everywhere in this world
Its also why I'm sick of hearing how we got to preserve the climate just as it is now. There is land under a thick mile sheet of ice down there, likely a ton of oil and other minerals locked away. Its there for a reason and one day it will be ice free--maybe hundreds of thousands of years from now but that is good
Life has went on on Earth for billions of years--we couldn't stop it if we tried. Sure we could kill ourselves off but something else would replace us and other animals. Even if life was pretty much dead for along time, its happen before and somehow life got going once again.
I think its good too that they were unable to drill through the ice in to the lake buried under the ice. Leave it alone--its sealed off. There is lots we don't understand, lets not try to go too fast. A few hundreds years is nothing, what is the rush, what if we screw something up big time ?
Lost in Antarctica: The heroism of researchers
From the Globe and Mail
MICHAEL PARFIT
Jan. 25, 2013
The disappearance of three Canadians in a plane in Antarctica has the world worrying and hoping. But whatever news we get in the next hours, we should recognize that this is not just a far-away accident in a harsh place. The work these men were doing on behalf of all of us and our children makes them genuine heroes.
Heroes are not just people who do dangerous things. By definition, a hero is someone whose hardships and risks are undertaken in the service of others. That’s why the term applies to the Kenn Borek crew and all the other air crews, scientists and cooks who support scientific exploration on the hard and dangerous edges of the world.
This work matters to all of us, yet the people who do it seldom ask for praise. All they ask of us is the opportunity to keep working. But we should honour them just as enthusiastically as we salute the men and women in uniform who defend us. These people, too, go into harm’s way for us.
I was lucky to have the chance to work as a journalist in Antarctica during several long trips to the continent between 1983 and 1996. I travelled mostly with scientists and support personnel who worked with the U.S. National Science Foundation’s polar research program. I covered many scientific projects, including studies of global warming that began long before it became a high-profile issue. I also worked at or near Antarctic bases owned by Chile, Argentina, China, Russia, Poland, Brazil, New Zealand and Britain.
The various ongoing national programs in Antarctica are amazingly safe, but I nevertheless saw the evidence of risk: several wrecked aircraft near McMurdo station and other bases and, once, the last flames of an inferno that consumed an entire Argentinian research station in an afternoon. The ship I was on rescued the station’s stunned crew.
As a journalist, I found the day-to-day work of antarctic science to be riveting. Reporters like me who visited the scientists were always trying to get them to talk about discoveries or eureka moments. They almost never did. And what became clear to me was that the scientists and the people who supported the scientific work were driven more by a sense of service than by hopes for glamorous discoveries.
They knew that notable discoveries come seldom, but they found motivation in their service every day. And the service to which they pledged their extraordinary effort was the expansion of knowledge for all humans.
The combination of this sense of service and the very difficult conditions of working in Antarctica created an atmosphere of hard work and camaraderie built on a fundamental idea that the hardship and risks were worth it.
And that idea was justified: Over the years there have been advances in many disciplines based on Antarctic science, not just in geology and natural history, but in knowledge of global warming, atmospheric science and astronomy. This is vital work. Our modern world is built on a foundation of science – the more we know, the more we can learn how to survive on the planet that sustains us. Our health and well-being depend on it. There is no finer cause.
Scientific exploration in tough places like Antarctica happens without fanfare and with almost no outside notice, except when something like this happens. But though this work is done behind the scenes, this crew and the many other men and women like them are true heroes of our age. They put their lives on the line every day to advance our knowledge of the world, and they deserve our highest esteem.
From the Globe and Mail
MICHAEL PARFIT
Jan. 25, 2013
The disappearance of three Canadians in a plane in Antarctica has the world worrying and hoping. But whatever news we get in the next hours, we should recognize that this is not just a far-away accident in a harsh place. The work these men were doing on behalf of all of us and our children makes them genuine heroes.
Heroes are not just people who do dangerous things. By definition, a hero is someone whose hardships and risks are undertaken in the service of others. That’s why the term applies to the Kenn Borek crew and all the other air crews, scientists and cooks who support scientific exploration on the hard and dangerous edges of the world.
This work matters to all of us, yet the people who do it seldom ask for praise. All they ask of us is the opportunity to keep working. But we should honour them just as enthusiastically as we salute the men and women in uniform who defend us. These people, too, go into harm’s way for us.
I was lucky to have the chance to work as a journalist in Antarctica during several long trips to the continent between 1983 and 1996. I travelled mostly with scientists and support personnel who worked with the U.S. National Science Foundation’s polar research program. I covered many scientific projects, including studies of global warming that began long before it became a high-profile issue. I also worked at or near Antarctic bases owned by Chile, Argentina, China, Russia, Poland, Brazil, New Zealand and Britain.
The various ongoing national programs in Antarctica are amazingly safe, but I nevertheless saw the evidence of risk: several wrecked aircraft near McMurdo station and other bases and, once, the last flames of an inferno that consumed an entire Argentinian research station in an afternoon. The ship I was on rescued the station’s stunned crew.
As a journalist, I found the day-to-day work of antarctic science to be riveting. Reporters like me who visited the scientists were always trying to get them to talk about discoveries or eureka moments. They almost never did. And what became clear to me was that the scientists and the people who supported the scientific work were driven more by a sense of service than by hopes for glamorous discoveries.
They knew that notable discoveries come seldom, but they found motivation in their service every day. And the service to which they pledged their extraordinary effort was the expansion of knowledge for all humans.
The combination of this sense of service and the very difficult conditions of working in Antarctica created an atmosphere of hard work and camaraderie built on a fundamental idea that the hardship and risks were worth it.
And that idea was justified: Over the years there have been advances in many disciplines based on Antarctic science, not just in geology and natural history, but in knowledge of global warming, atmospheric science and astronomy. This is vital work. Our modern world is built on a foundation of science – the more we know, the more we can learn how to survive on the planet that sustains us. Our health and well-being depend on it. There is no finer cause.
Scientific exploration in tough places like Antarctica happens without fanfare and with almost no outside notice, except when something like this happens. But though this work is done behind the scenes, this crew and the many other men and women like them are true heroes of our age. They put their lives on the line every day to advance our knowledge of the world, and they deserve our highest esteem.
The reason to preserve the climate is so we can preserve human civilization. I agree that the world will go on but if push comes to shove, I'd rather humanity continues than give way to some new dominant species.
Apparently a turn made just a bit too early. Tragic
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/0...tarctica-likely-wont-be-recovered-until-fall/
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/0...tarctica-likely-wont-be-recovered-until-fall/
