C-17 Arrival

 We’ve had several weeks of bad luck for planes to come into McMurdo. Either weather or mechanical issues have occurred. I finally was able to witness a C-17 arrive on Monday. It was pretty breathtaking to see this large plane just come sailing across the sky, seemingly slow, pass the ice runway known as Phoenix, take a wide bank to reverse directions, and land on the ice. It taxied close to us, and we could see the back doors open and cargo start to be taken out. New Zealand’s Antarctic Program actually had a helicopter onboard, which arrived just in time for their Prime Minister’s visit this week. Several NSF’ers had the privilege of meeting Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on her first visit to NZ’s Scott Base. She did tour McMurdo, but alas, I am in COVID jail and did not get to meet her.

The C-17 brought many people who had been anxiously waiting in Christchurch for several weeks. It also brought science cargo and freshies, both of which are high priority! Of course, one thing these “mainbody” flights (flights in October that signal the start of nominal operations) bring with them are possible COVID carriers. Although I was able to dodge COVID for almost 3 years and was able to safely live in McMurdo for 6 weeks, the new arrivals finally got me. So, a C-17 arrival is great to see, but also comes with some risks.













 

 

Comments

  1. Mae TravelsNovember 2, 2022 at 4:43 AM

    So sad that you were infected -- really sad, since you did dodge the covid bullet on the NG Explorer, which I caught! And we were together! I hope you aren't really feeling sick.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

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