TikTok Star’s Charity Flight Grounded: 19-Year-Old Pilot Detained After Unauthorized Antarctica Landing
A 19-year-old American content creator’s ambitious quest to fly solo to all seven continents has been dramatically halted in one of the most remote places on Earth after he was detained by Chilean authorities for landing his plane on an island off Antarctica without authorization.
The pilot, Ethan Guo, who has documented his journey for his millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram, was on the final and most challenging leg of his world-record attempt. His goal was not only to become the first person to fly a small aircraft solo to all seven continents but also to raise $1 million for cancer research.
The trouble began after Guo took off in his Cessna 182Q from Punta Arenas, a city at the southern tip of Chile, on Saturday morning. What happened next is now the subject of an international investigation.
Two Sides of the Story
According to Chilean prosecutors, the case against Guo is a matter of public safety. They allege that he submitted a “false flight plan” indicating he would simply fly over the city and return. Instead, without notifying aviation authorities, he flew across the treacherous Southern Ocean and landed at a Chilean airstrip on King George Island.
His deviation from the flight plan led officials to declare his aircraft “lost,” sparking alarm. Prosecutors argue his actions violated Chilean aviation regulations and could have ended in disaster. “This could have been a tragedy,” said Chilean prosecutor Cristian Crisosto Rifo, noting that Guo’s plane could have crashed into another aircraft.
Guo, however, tells a different story. In an interview from the Chilean base where he is being housed, he stated that his approved flight plan was to Ushuaia, Argentina. He claims he was forced to divert to the public airstrip on King George Island “due to weather conditions and in order to ensure my safety.”
“It’s not my intention to commit any violation of Chilean law,” Guo said, expressing his full willingness to cooperate with the investigation. “I hope to soon continue my crusade in the fight against cancer.”
Stranded at the Bottom of the World
While initially detained, Chilean officials have clarified that Guo is no longer deprived of his liberty. He is technically free to leave the island, but there’s a significant catch: he has to remain in Chile until his case is resolved, and there is no practical way off the isolated island.
“He simply has nowhere else to go because of the inherent isolation of the territory,” explained a Chilean court spokesman. There are no regular commercial flights to King George Island until the end of the Southern Hemisphere’s winter in August.
Guo, who told reporters he “could be better,” is effectively stranded at the President Eduardo Frei Montalva Base. He is now working with his lawyers to get approval to fly his own plane back to the mainland. A hearing in his case is scheduled for August 11, leaving the young pilot and his record-breaking charity mission frozen in uncertainty at the bottom of the world.
