Pilots said the mission pushed both the aircraft and crew close to the limits of what is possible under Antarctic conditions. A race against weather and darknessThe rescue flight departed from Tasmania after Skytraders received a request from the U.S. Antarctic Program through the Australian Antarctic Division. "It was the first such rescue mission to take place during the dark Antarctic winter," Louise Robertson told the BBC. Another pilot on the mission, Al Wallach, said Antarctic rescue operations require extraordinary precision even under normal circumstances. Skytraders has conducted emergency evacuations from Antarctica before, including a medical rescue from McMurdo Station in March 2020 when temperatures were around minus 30 degrees Celsius.