Washington Stopped Antarctic Flight

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31520, 7 November 1967, Page 18

Washington Stopped Antarctic Flight

A Royal Canadian Air Force Yukon turboprop transport aircraft was prevented from making its planned flight across the Antarctic to Argentina by the United States Department of State.

According to a Canadian Air Force office- in Christchurch at the week-end the flight across the Antarctic had been cancelled because of a fuel shortage at McMurdo Station.

ent of a purely military nature.

All the actvities of the United States Navy are bound up with the support of scientific research whereas the Yukon flight would have been purely a military manoeuvre. The Canadians left Christchurch for Sydney aboard their Yukon early yesterday afternoon. They are returning to Ottawa by way of Hong Kong and Honolulu. The round-the-world flight over both North and South Poles was a Canadian centennial project. The Yukon would have needed 40,0001 b of fuel to make the 13J-hour flight from McMurdo station to Buenos Aires.

But Captain H. E. Kendrick, the United States Navy staff operations officer, said at Harewood yesterday that the cancellation of the Canadians’ flight to McMurdo had nothing whatever to do with fuel. There was ample fuel at McMurdo, he said.

It appears that the Canadians made their initial request to the United States Navy Antarctic Support force for permission to land at McMurdo, refuel, and be given weather briefings. The Navy headquarters at Christchurch did not have the authority to approve or disapprove the request so the matter was referred to the office of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington. From there the problem was passed on to the State Department and a dispatch signed by the Secretary of State (Mr Rusk) was sent back to Christchurch saying he was unable to approve the Canadian reque . “due to operational and policy problems raised by the flight.” The policy problems refer to the Antarctic Treaty in which is a clause prohibiting any activities on the contin-

A Canadian Air Force officer said yesterday that the crew was somewhat disappointed at not having achieved what they originally set out to do. “When we set out we were told there would be fuel and no problems,” he said.