A search and rescue team has located the downed plane that disappeared over Antarctica last week and has determined that the three people on board could not have survived the crash.
Pilot Bob Heath and passengers Mike Denton and Perry Andersen were all killed outright.
described the circumstances surrounding the aircraft’s disappearance:
The plane was making a routine supply run from the South Pole to an Italian base located near Terra Nova Bay last Thursday when it went down, immediately activating its emergency locator beacon. Winds in excess of 100mph and heavy snow prevented any kind of rescue operation from being mounted at the time, so SAR teams and anxious family members could only watch and wait. Once the weather improved, however, the plane was spotted on a steep mountain face near the summit of Mt. Elizabeth, a 14,698-foot peak located in the Queen Alexandra Range. It appears that it flew directly into the mountain with none of the crew surviving the impact.
The Twin Otter plane was owned by Calgary’s Kenn Borek Air, and the pilot, Heath, had been flying in .