SA: Australian pilot stranded in Antartic

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2003
SA: Australian pilot stranded in Antartic

An Australian pilot is stranded in Antarctica after becoming the first person to fly
a home-built, single-engine aircraft over the South Pole.

Pilot JON JOHANSON has been refused fuel at a joint United States-New Zealand McMurdo-Scott
base in the Antarctic.

JOHANSON yesterday completed flying over the South Pole on a flight which started in
Invercargill in New Zealand's far south on Sunday.

The Adelaide-based pilot had planned to continue on to Argentina but was forced to
land at the base after his plane used more fuel than planned.

JOHANSON's partner SUE BALL says officials at the base have refused to give the pilot
400 litres of fuel so he can get home.

Base officers have offered to put JOHANSON on a commercial flight home.

Ms BALL is asking the federal government to lobby the US and NZ officials to provide the fuel.





JOHANSON flew his RV-4 aircraft over the South Pole after travelling a flight distance
of 3,300 nautical miles in 26-and-a-half hours.

AAP RTV sl/lma/rp

KEYWORD: PILOT (ADELAIDE)

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