Sun, Jun 01, 2025
19-Year-Old Pilot Was Attempting to Fly Solo to All Seven Continents
On his journey to become the first pilot to land solo on all seven continents, 19-year-old Ethan Guo has hit a legal roadblock. He was arrested for altering his flight plan and landing in Antarctica without notifying air traffic control.
Guo is an instrument-rated private pilot, holding more than 700 hours of total flight time. With the help of his trusty Cessna 182Q Skylane, registered N182WT, he has already managed to land in all 48 contiguous states and cross the Atlantic three times.
In May 2024, Guo departed General DeWitt Spain Airport in Memphis, Tennessee, on a mission to touch down in all seven continents solo. The plan was to make 75 total landings, stopping in 60 different countries through 50,000 miles of flying.
Unfortunately, regulators seem to have stalled Guo’s trip. He was arrested on June 28 after taking off from Presidente Carlos Ibanez del Campo International Airport (PUQ) in Punta Arenas and changing up his flight plan mid-air without notifying air traffic control. Chilean authorities were there to greet Guo once he landed at the Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin Airport (TNM), located on Chile’s King George Island.
"The pilot's lack of information immediately activated the alert protocols established for this type of situation, including the deployment of air resources designated for the search, with the consequent use of state resources and risks to operational safety," read a statement from Chile’s Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC). "Based on the facts, the DGAC filed a complaint with the Public Prosecutor's Office for a potential violation of the Antarctic Aeronautical and Regulatory Code.”
This is not the first time aviation rulemakers have picked up Guo along his journey. In May, weather conditions and equipment failures along his India-Thailand leg forced him to make an unplanned stop in Myanmar. With the country in conflict, Guo was brought in for hours of questioning and detained overnight before being told to leave.
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