Ken Borek Air on another rescue mission.

[Guest M. McRae]

Seems that Canadian Pilots perform better in the cold

Pilots head for South Pole rescue

Calgary - Pilots from Kenn Borek Air are once again attempting to rescue an ailing researcher at the South Pole.

Two Twin Otters have left for Cancun and Ecuador, and from there they will fly on to Antarctica, hoping to arrive Sunday.

The researcher is suffering from an intestinal problem that can't be treated by the doctor at the research station. They will fly him to a hospital in Chile.

"It's the ski landing at the pole, is the problem," general manager Steve Penikett said. "The limited day light and the ski landing. And equipped for cold weather. It's fairly chilly down there. When I looked at it the other day, I think it was 72 below. It's warmer than the last time they did it. It was 90-something then."

This trip is very similar to a mission Kenn Borek pilots did two years ago, when they rescued a doctor with a pancreatic illness from the South Pole. The company, which specializes in flying people and equipment into extremely cold-weather environments, gained international attention for that rescue, the first of its kind.

Last May, their pilots also rescued an explorer stranded at the North Pole.