An American pilot who was arrested upon touchdown in Chilean Antarctica over 40 days in the past says he has nonetheless not been allowed to fly out even after his case was suspended.
Ethan Guo was attempting to change into the youngest individual to fly solo to all seven continents and lift cash for most cancers analysis when he was accused of illegally touchdown in a Chilean territory in Antarctica.
Whereas trying to fly from Chile to Ushuaia, Argentina, in late June, Guo instructed ABC Information in an interview on Wednesday that he misplaced radio transmission and his airplane skilled engine failure, so he diverted to Antarctica and landed on a distant island off the coast.
American pilot Ethan Guo poses for the photographer in Geneva, Switzerland, Aug. 6, 2024, earlier than his take off from Geneva Airport for trying a world document solo flight to all seven continents.
Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone through AP
Guo’s lawyer stated the pilot obtained “specific, direct permission” to land at a Chilean base. However upon touchdown, Guo was arrested and charged with offering false flight info, based on Chilean officers, who stated he didn’t have a allow and “violated worldwide laws concerning the Antarctica continent.”
A Chilean court docket suspended his case this week and ordered him to donate $30,000 to a neighborhood charity. The donation is a part of the stipulation for his prices being dropped, Guo confirmed. He’s additionally prohibited from re-entering Chilean territory for 3 years, Chilean officers stated.
Guo stated he’s “grateful” and “relieved” for the fees to be dropped, sustaining that he did nothing improper, though he needs the case might have been resolved sooner.
Guo stated he has misplaced weight all through this ordeal and looks like a “prisoner” on the bottom. He stated that regardless of being free to go, Chilean officers “will not let me depart.”
Ethan Guo speaks with ABC Information, Aug. 13, 2025.
ABC Information
His lawyer stated that “regardless of his exoneration, the Chilean authorities has not allowed him to fly his airworthy airplane off the bottom.”
Guo stated he has heard various causes for why he can’t depart, together with that the airplane will not be match to fly, doesn’t have sufficient gas, he does not have the correct abilities and the climate is just too poor.
“All 4 of these statements are objectively false,” he stated. “I’ve all of the paperwork. I’ve insurance coverage that even covers Antarctica. The airplane has sufficient gas, the airplane is working. And I’m a certified pilot.”
Guo stated leaving by boat could possibly be an possibility, however he stated they’re rare, and there have not been any since he is been on the bottom. He additionally stated he desires to have the ability to fly again to proceed his fundraising journey. The pilot launched into his fundraising mission final 12 months on the age of 19, trying to lift as much as $1 million for analysis into childhood most cancers.
“I would like to have the ability to proceed to combat towards most cancers and proceed the mission,” he stated.
