Repair Crews Arrive To Fix Plane

Friday the 13th proved to be very lucky for three Australian airmen whose twin-engine CASA C-212 (file photo, below) stranded them for more than a week on the Amery Ice Shelf, in the sub-zero environment of Antarctica.

According to Australia's Antarctic Division (AAD), the two men and one woman had been stuck in the icy wilderness since their aircraft's hydraulic landing skies were damaged when they landed on the shelf. The crew had been sent there to retrieve a US weather balloon.

While trapped in a less-than-hospitable environment, the three did have shelter, power, food and communications equipment, according to the AAD.

Rescue crews knew the three were there; however, gusting winds and low clouds had prevented previous attempts to fly in supplies and repair workers. The weather finally lifted Friday.

"The weather lifted enough to let [rescuers] through," a spokeswoman for the AAD said.

Two Squirrel (AS350) helicopters were flown out to the site, carrying engineers to make repairs to the disabled aircraft.

They are also bringing additional supplies to support the crew's stay as repairs are made, expected to take three or four more days -- although the helicopters won't stick around that long (so they're not trapped there, as well, should the weather turn again.)

FMI: www.aad.gov.au/