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...crew stranded...
http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and ... 0-aircraft
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaki ... 5954529941
Aussie plane damaged in Antarctica
From: AAP November 16, 2010 4:39PM
A PLANE carrying four Australians has been severely damaged landing on an ice-bound runway on its way to Davis Station, in Antarctica.
The plane, a CASA 212-400, was carrying two engineers and two pilots when it made a planned stopover at Bunger Hills, 430km west of Casey Station in the Australian Antarctic Territory yesterday evening (AEDT).
The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) says the plane struck hard ridged ice on the unprepared runway, damaging its landing gear and fuselage.
No one was injured, a spokeswoman said.
Acting head of the Australian Antarctic Division Rob Wooding said the four would wait in field huts at Bunger Hills while a contingency plan was prepared.
"The plane is damaged and we're assessing what to do with it," Dr Wooding said.
"It was significantly damaged on the undercarriage, whether that can be repaired in situ, whether we can fly it out and repair it is something we're still assessing."
The Antarctic Division’s second CASA-212 is on stand-by to retrieve the air crew if required.
The Australian Antarctic Division’s Acting Director, Rob Wooding, said the plane’s main gear on one side was displaced and there was some buckling of the fuselage when it unexpectedly hit some sastrugi (hard, ridged ice) on landing yesterday evening.
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