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US influencer stranded in Antarctica after landing plane without permission
- blankx32 1y agohttp://archive.today/UWC2w http://archive.today/UWC2w
- torium 1y ago[dead]
- soulofmischief 1y ago> Ethan Guo was hoping to become the youngest person to fly solo to all seven continents I think a more favorable title is "US pilot stranded in Antarctica after landing plane without permission". They chose the word "influencer" for a reason, even though it was a pilot trying to set a record that happened to film himself. He's even flying to raise funds for cancer research. Too bad he lied to ground control, what a great way to lose your license, prison aside. edit: to answer some of the replies, I'm just concerned with the implicit patronization that media applies to anyone who has a hobby/career but also makes money off of publicizing it.
- bachmeier 1y ago> They chose the word "influencer" for a reason And that reason is his 600K followers on TikTok.
- CGMthrowaway 1y agoWhich could describe tens of thousands of people posting to tiktok. I know someone who got to half a million without even trying.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago> Which could describe tens of thousands of people posting to tiktok The relevant nexus is influencer status and doing something dangerous and stupid. At the very least, he will lose his ability to fly.
- aredox 1y ago>He's even flying to raise funds for cancer research. He is even using sick kids as a cover for his behavior. Honestly if he isn't a manipulative psychopath, he is well on his way to become one.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- jameslk 1y agoWhat differentiates a person who’s doing a stunt to raise money for a charitable cause and a person who is “using sick kids as cover” for their behavior?
- keybored 1y agoOnly God and the person in question knows.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago> What differentiates a person who’s doing a stunt to raise money for a charitable cause and a person who is “using sick kids as cover” for their behavior? One, coördination. Did the charity know about this fundraiser? Two, long-term orientation. Is this a one-off to gain followers? Or is he consistently giving to charity? Three, outcome. How much did he raise and donate? None of these bear favourably for this kid. He’s an influencer. It’s nice he’s making people think about charity. But he’s not showing any signs of giving a shit about the effects of his actions.
- jameslk 1y agoSurely you can do all of those things and still be a machiavellian psychopath? Or be too lazy to do those things and still have altruistic intentions? Couldn’t someone have both selfish and altruistic intentions simultaneously? My point being, it’s hard to know the truth but easy to assume the worst about someone. Maybe I don’t have enough context to know otherwise, but I don’t see a reason to jump to the conclusion this kid is a psychopath
- exabrial 1y agobecause thats exactly what he is?
- jncfhnb 1y ago> He's even flying to raise funds for cancer research. The best line from the Lorax film is in this song where he’s trying to put a positive spin on his aggressive commercialization and they say “a portion of proceeds goes to charity”!
- phkahler 1y ago>> “a portion of proceeds goes to charity”! Right! How much does this world tour cost vs how much he brings in vs how much goes to cancer research?
- CGMthrowaway 1y agoWhat does it matter, if the proceeds would never have been generated in the first place without the adventure?
- jncfhnb 1y agoif a guy makes a million dollars doing something shitty for himself and donates a thousand to charity it shouldn’t cancel out
- slumberlust 1y agoYou might enjoy this classic: https://youtu.be/kTdScE3Rqh8 https://youtu.be/kTdScE3Rqh8
- pjc50 1y agoThis incident reminds me of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias_Rust https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathias_Rust and his landing in Red Square. A risky thing to do at a time when air defences were very much live, and also incredibly risky to land in a public square, but he made it and only spent a few months in prison.
- keybored 1y agoThousands of people have pursued their dreams or goals while doing-it-to-raise-funds-for-good-cause. I don’t really get it... people can just do whatever and put an Other People Are Helping Cure Cancer sticker on it. Like, what? What does this stunt have to do with cancer?
- xg15 1y agoHe is an influencer and a pilot. Both things are relevant to the story.
- soulofmischief 1y agoAnd yet the headline cherry-picked one of them.
- 0xffff2 1y agoThe "is a pilot" part can reasonably be inferred from "after landing plane". It doesn't need to be stated explicitly.
- soulofmischief 1y agoWe can dispense with the rhetoric, it's very obvious that the headline was chosen to elicit a specific reaction and frame the story in a specific way.
- calmbonsai 1y agoI concur with the consequences and the perverse incentives involved, but this goes with the general advice of "If you're going to break the law, either do so extremely publicly or extremely privately." The really sad thing here is I have little doubt this could've been arranged legally given the respective parties and interests involved, but Mr. Guo chose to be selfish and foolhardy by not abiding by anyone else's timeline or interests. He deserves all the punishment and derision coming his way.
- jart 1y agoThey probably left him no choice but to lie. They're not a very good government.
- dragonwriter 1y ago> They probably left him no choice but to lie Since the whole flight was a choice, he obviously had the choice not to lie.
- aaron695 1y ago[dead]
- tantalor 1y ago"Stranded" implies he is physically stuck, but the article contradicts itself on several points. > "I remain in Antarctica awaiting approval for my departure flight" > He was not forced to stay there, only to remain in Chilean territory > He must also leave the country as soon as conditions allow > Guo’s plane “does not have the capabilities to make a flight” As a reader, it's hard to understand exactly what is happening. This is very poor reporting. The most interesting detail in buried in the last paragraph: > The prosecutor’s office said Guo must also pay all costs for his “aircraft security and personal maintenance” during his stay at the military facility. He also needs to cover all expenses for his return. So the real reason he is "stranded" is extortion.
- kayodelycaon 1y agoI don't think it classifies as extortion when it's a plea deal to avoid being prosecuted for breaking multiple laws and potentially going to jail.
- yieldcrv 1y agothe only difference between extortion and a fine is “due process” remember, sometimes the mob has better rates
- toss1 1y ago"only difference" and the quotes around "due process" are doing a lot of very heavy lifting there, trying to falsely equate due process and extortion The entire point of Due Process is that it is NOT extortion. It is entirely designed to gather and weigh the facts, with respect to impartial laws created to maintain society. While due process may fall short of those goals in some jurisdictions, acting like it is the literal same as extortion works only to further degrade society. You really do NOT want to live in a society with only extortion by local warlords, being themselves extorted by regional warlords, etc...
- scotty79 1y ago
- nilamo 1y agoThe phrasing of this is very funny to me. How dare he land without permission, he should have flown circles until his fuel ran out and he crashed! /s
- bilekas 1y agoOr he shouldn't have changed his flight plan without letting the ATC know, these things cause massive headaches for everyone else. ATC can't have regular service running when there's a rogue flight in the air. He's lucky he is getting off with a slap on the wrist basically. The entitlement some people have is bewildering. There are many ways to get approval for a flight to the Antarctic. Do it the right way.
- scotty79 1y agoI bet there's huge air traffic in Antarctic. He surely inconvenienced many busy penguins.
- SketchySeaBeast 1y agoImagine a foreign small aircraft landing on an American air base without permission.
- flufluflufluffy 1y agoIt would definitely be blown to bits before ever getting the chance to land if there was no response from the pilot lol
- bluGill 1y agoThere are several ways to respond. They include I don't have a working radio but I need to land now. Control towers know these procedures exist and will look them up when needed (they are used so rarely that nobody remembers them). So long as you are acting like a pilot who in an emergency you will be fine in general. (of course if you are acting like an emergency in a way that would allow you to pull a 9-11 attack on something important they will shoot, but it isn't the default).
- pityJuke 1y agoSo, the critical update here is that Chile are agreeing to letting him leave, provided he donates $30k to charity. That is extremely generous of them, considering what appears to have been the insanity of his stunt.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- cess11 1y agoSeems his intention was to get people to donate a million US dollars for him to give to charity.
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago> Chile are agreeing to letting him leave, provided he donates $30k to charity “The prosecutor’s office said Guo must also pay all costs for his ‘aircraft security and personal maintenance’ during his stay at the military facility. He also needs to cover all expenses for his return.” So possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars more. There is also a good chance the FAA revokes his pilot’s license.
- scotty79 1y agoIt's kind of weird that even though air and flying is associated with ultimate dreamlike freedom it is regulated so stringently even in places where there are basically no humans, no infrastructure, barely even any nature to protect
- ergsef 1y agoThere's a lot of nature to protect in Antarctica, and there are very strict rules. This guy is selfishly flaunting those rules and just paying to get rid of the consequences. Considering he's got a personal plane and pilot's license at 19 he obviously has rich parents who can buy his way out of trouble. Donating to charity is not impressive if you're still rich after you donate. Me giving $20 to a homeless person is a bigger blow to my personal wellbeing than this guy's "donation".
- kayodelycaon 1y agoFiling a false flight plan and landing at a South American military base in Antarctica in a completely inadequate plane, without authorization, is a bold move. He's lucky it was just expensive. But he did get the publicity he was looking for.
- hydrogen7800 1y agoAvweb [0] has a bit more concise report of the story: >On June 28, Chilean prosecutors allege that Guo submitted a false flight plan at Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Airport in Punta Arenas, indicating he would fly over the city. However, authorities claim he deviated from this plan without notification, continuing toward Antarctica and landing at Lieutenant Rodolfo Marsh Base in Chilean Antarctic territory. >Prosecutors allege that Guo violated “multiple national and international regulations” by altering his flight path without prior approval and touching down on a portion of Antarctica claimed by Chile. Also, this is a 675 nm (1250 km) trip, with 529 nm (980 km) over open ocean during the southern winter. [1] Still within range of a 182, but yikes. [0]https://avweb.com/aviation-news/teen-pilot-detained-in-antarctica-during-record-attempt/ https://avweb.com/aviation-news/teen-pilot-detained-in-antar... [1]https://skyvector.com/?ll=-62.19079798502279,-58.986328117459756&chart=301&zoom=8&fpl=%20SCID%20SAWH%20SCRM https://skyvector.com/?ll=-62.19079798502279,-58.98632811745...
- justin66 1y agoDoing this in a single-engine Cessna was gutsy. My question for people who know about this stuff: how hard would it have been to get permission to land in Antarctica?
- tengbretson 1y agoDamn. The president of Antarctica had to have been livid.
- JumpCrisscross 1y agoLooks like Guo’s private pilot license is still active [1]. (I’ve flagged the CNN article [2] to the FAA.) [1] https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/Main.aspx https://amsrvs.registry.faa.gov/airmeninquiry/Main.aspx [2] https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/02/americas/us-teen-ethan-guo-solo-flight-antarctica-chile-detained-intl-latam https://edition.cnn.com/2025/07/02/americas/us-teen-ethan-gu...
- ultrarunner 1y agoBy “flagged” do you mean to say that you’ve reported him to the FAA?
- JumpCrisscross 1y ago> you’ve reported him to the FAA? Yes.
- justin66 1y agoI feel safer already.
- bpodgursky 1y ago> touching down on a portion of Antarctica claimed by Chile It is worth pointing out that no other nation acknowledges Chile's claim to this part of Antarctica. And in fact, several other countries claim the same territory. It doesn't make landing there a good idea, but it's not really an invasion of sovereign Chilean territory in a sane way. Chile claims an enormous portion of Antarctica which they exert absolutely 0 sovereignty over in practice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_Antarctic_Territory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilean_Antarctic_Territory. In fact, two of the three US antarctic bases (Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and Palmer station) are in their claimed territory, and I can assure you that US researchers do not ask Chile's permission to enter and leave. You can call this a dumb stunt without giving credence to the goofy south american land claims Chile and Argentina are prone to making.
- bluGill 1y agoHe landed near/at a Chile's base and is in Chile's custody. For purposes of this the claim is valid since Chile is able to enforce it and nobody else will oppose them doing so. In general you are correct the claim isn't recognized, but it doesn't apply here.
- throwway120385 1y agoHe overflew Chile proper on his way into their territorial claims. So call it what you will but he filed a false flight plan with their regulatory body and he should face some consequences for it. The fact that his destination is in disputed territory doesn't mitigate any of that. The Chilean military and civilian bodies are being very lenient.
- ryandrake 1y agoReminds me of that guy[1][2] a few years ago who jumped out of his running airplane deliberately staging its crash. I guess I just don't understand the YouTube economy. How are these stunts cost effective? This probably means no more flying ever for both of these "influencer" guys. So, what's their plan after they get caught and lose their license and/or do time in prison? 1: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31104691 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31104691 2: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35909203 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35909203
- cwmma 1y agoYou're over thinking this, their plan is to not be caught.
- phkahler 1y agoI think the question is how one recoups the cost of crashing a plane. I know youtubers who make 5 to 6 figures, but they have to keep posting content that gets watched. One "crash my plane" video doesn't seem like a big money maker.
- kayodelycaon 1y agoDo something illegal and post it to the internet for everyone to see… Brilliant plan.
- mikeocool 1y agoIf you're going to illegally fly to Antarctica, probably makes sense to wait until the summer time? The US bases on the continent have no flights in or out between mid-February and late October.
- dieg0 1y agoEntitled US influencer also learns that is it not a good idea flying to Antarctica in the middle of winter. Glad he didn't endanger anybody else, that is also a miracle.
- jmclnx 1y agoWhat was he thinking :) But seeing teenagers do not think, I believe the court made the correct decision. Hopefully he can meet the court's requirements and is able to leave safely.