An American pilot who was arrested upon landing in Chilean Antarctica over 40 days ago says he has still not been allowed to fly out even after his case was suspended.
Ethan Guo was trying to become the youngest person to fly solo to all seven continents and raise money for cancer research when he was accused of illegally landing in a Chilean territory in Antarctica.
While attempting to fly from Chile to Ushuaia, Argentina, in late June, Guo told ABC News in an interview on Wednesday that he lost radio transmission and his plane experienced engine failure, so he diverted to Antarctica and landed on a remote island off the coast.
Guo’s attorney said the pilot received “explicit, direct permission” to land at a Chilean base. But upon landing, Guo was arrested and charged with providing false flight information, according to Chilean officials, who said he did not have a permit and “violated international regulations regarding the Antarctica continent.”
A Chilean court suspended his case this week and ordered him to donate $30,000 to a local charity. The donation is part of the stipulation for his charges being dropped, Guo confirmed. He is also prohibited from re-entering Chilean territory for three years, Chilean officials said.
Guo said he is “grateful” and “relieved” for the charges to be dropped, maintaining that he did nothing wrong, although he wishes the case could have been resolved sooner.
Guo said he has lost weight throughout this ordeal and feels like a “prisoner” on the base. He said that despite being free to go, Chilean officials “won’t let me leave.”
His attorney said that “despite his exoneration, the Chilean government has not allowed him to fly his airworthy plane off the base.”
Guo said he has heard varying reasons for why he can’t leave, including that the plane is not fit to fly, does not have enough fuel, he doesn’t have the proper skills and the weather is too poor.
“All four of those statements are objectively false,” he said. “I have all the paperwork. I have insurance that even covers Antarctica. The plane has enough fuel, the plane is working. And I am a qualified pilot.”
Guo said leaving by boat could be an option, but he said they are infrequent, and there haven’t been any since he’s been on the base. He also said he wants to be able to fly back to continue his fundraising journey. The pilot embarked on his fundraising mission last year at the age of 19, attempting to raise up to $1 million for research into childhood cancer.
“I want to be able to continue to fight against cancer and continue the mission,” he said.
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