Weather latest worry for Antarctic pilot

By WAYNE THOMPSON and NZPA


Australian pilot Jon Johanson was waiting for a break in the weather this morning to take off from Antarctica in his homebuilt plane for a 12-hour trip to Invercargill.

Weather forecasters in New Zealand and Australia teamed up last night to give him a clearer picture of the conditions he was concerned about, over the sub-Antarctic islands closer to New Zealand.

Mr Johanson, 47, has been stranded at McMurdo Sound since December 8 when lack of fuel forced him to abandon a flight from Invercargill to Argentina after circling the Pole.

United States and New Zealand Government officials in Antarctica refused to give him fuel, saying it was policy not to supply private expeditions.

But on Friday, British pilot Polly Vacher came to his rescue with an offer of fuel that she had stored for her own cross-polar flight.

Antarctica New Zealand chief executive Lou Sanson said New Zealanders carried the fuel from Ms Vacher's stores at Scott Base to McMurdo airbase and helped to pump it onboard Mr Johanson's plane.

Getting a weather forecast for his flight was the next problem for the Adelaide-based pilot.

New Zealand does not have forecasters in the Antarctic and relies on the United States base forecasters.

But Mr Sanson said the US had a long-standing policy of providing forecasts only for national programmes, because of "a liability issue".

The possibility of Governments taking legal moves to discourage similar experiences was raised at the weekend.

Several other private trips over the polar ice are proposed for this summer, one of them by helicopter from South America.

Mr Johanson's plight was among issues discussed by Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff and his Australian counterpart, Alexander Downer.

Mr Goff said Antarctica New Zealand's approach was to deter poorly planned expeditions. But he was pleased the situation had been resolved.

Mr Downer said the next meeting of Antarctic Treaty partners, in May, was an opportunity to ensure all partners had good policies that discouraged people from making journeys into Antarctica without first lodging flight plans and letting authorities know what they were doing.

He said he appreciated the New Zealanders' help to get Mr Johanson's flight to Invercargill under way.