A Chinese-American influencer was detained by authorities after flying a small aircraft directly to land in Antarctica without permission to raise funds for childhood cancer research.

One Cessna 182 aircraft landed at the Teniente Rodolfo Masi Martin Airport (based on King George Island) in Antarctica on the 28th (Saturday), the DGAC (Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil), Chile’s civil aircraft regulatory agency, said on the 30th (local time).

The Chilean Aviation Administration said the aircraft pilot initially submitted a document containing plans to fly over Punta Arenas in southern Chile, and violated it and headed to Antarctica.

As a result, Chilean authorities operated an alarm protocol in response to the small aircraft, which showed suspicious navigation.

Chilean daily Lattercera and El Mercurio reported that authorities identified the pilot as Ethan Guo.

사진 확대

Guo, a Chinese-American national, is a pilot and famous influencer. As of this day, his Instagram followers are close to 1.29 million.

According to an AP report on Guo in August last year, the 19-year-old said he aimed to fly to seven continents of the world “to raise funds for childhood cancer research.”

The AP also introduced Guo’s journey that he flew from Memphis, Tennessee, the United States, in May last year and arrived in Geneva, Switzerland via seven countries.

Guo began taking flight training at the age of 13, and reportedly waited a few more years after obtaining a pilot license four years later until his insurer agreed to buy insurance.

On the website, which introduces Guo’s round-the-world project, he said, “With my cousin diagnosed with cancer in 2021, I wanted to announce the strengthening of research efforts to develop treatments for childhood cancer. I want to be the first person to complete a solo flight to seven continents with a small aircraft and raise $1 million (worth 1.35 billion won) for cancer research.”

However, in this case, Chilean authorities emphasized that Guo’s alleged violation of aviation law should comply with the court ruling after prosecution’s indictment.