Crew members involved in the dangerous rescue of two researchers from the South Pole say they would do that kind of mission again if given the chance.

Two Twin Otter airplanes from Calgary-based Kenn Borek Air were sent to Antarctica to evacuate two sick researchers from the South Pole.

Wallace Dobchuk was the pilot on one of those planes. He says when they landed on the continent at the British Antarctic Survey’s Rothera Station, they were keeping a close eye on the weather. “We took some rest, looked at the weather again and said ‘I think we’ve got a 48 hour window to do this thing,’” said Dobchuk.

Dobchuk’s plane was to fly the rescue mission while the other Twin Otter stayed in Rothera in case of emergency. The plane’s wheels were switched out for skis and the crew prepared for the 9.5-hour journey to the bottom of the earth.

However, on the morning they had planned to leave Rothera for the South Pole, the weather had started to deteriorate. “I remember speaking to everybody kind of thinking ‘geez, did we miss it?’… but it turns out we just got away in time,” said Dobchuk.

Soon after they took off, Dobchuk says they hit a point of no return. “When we were about two or three hours out of Rothera, I’m not sure the weather would have been the best to come back in,” he said. “It wasn’t un-landable, but it wouldn’t have been an enjoyable time to come back to Rothera. So we were committed at that point; we’d made up our minds, we were going.”

Despite some concerns, the crew says the flight was uneventful, though the journey took place in near darkness. “It was really dark, all we had was the moonlight kind of reflecting on the snow,” said co-pilot, Sebastien Trudel. “Basically about 30 miles back, we started to see the tiny little light in the middle of nowhere and it got bigger and brighter and we landed.”

The crew then had to close down the plane in the frigid South Pole temperatures. The mercury can drop to -60 C this time of year – cold enough to freeze jet fuel. Each person had a heavy-duty parka, hand-warmers and foot-warmers to help fight off the freeze.

The crew was treated to a meal of buffalo steak at the South Pole as reward and had 10 hours to sleep before they had to make the 9.5-hour long return trip to Rothera with the two researchers. The sick researchers boarded the plane shortly before takeoff.

During the long trip to and from the South Pole, Dobchuk says they found ways to entertain themselves – by singing the acapella classic ‘In the Jungle’.

“We only knew two verses but we sang it for three or four hours trying to kill the 9.5-hour long flight,” said Dobchuk.

After landing at Rothera, the researchers prepared to board the second Twin Otter to Chile. James Haffey, the pilot of that plane, said the patients were checked out by the medical team in the infirmary before the next leg of their trip got underway.

“They weren’t on stretchers or anything; they were ambulatory. They were sitting in seats,” said Haffey, “They seemed to be happy and alert and excited to get going.”

Every member of the two Twin Otters had flown to the South Pole in the past and, when asked to raise their hand if they’d do it again, not one hesitated – they would jump at the opportunity.

This is not the first mission to Antarctica for Kenn Borek crews. They were dispatched on similar missions in 2001 and 2003.