The Australian Antarctic Division has air-dropped tools and equipment to the crew of a damaged plane in Antarctica.
The two pilots and two engineers were on board the CASA 212–400 when it made a hard landing at Bunger Hills, 430 kilometres west of Casey station, on Monday night.
The plane’s landing gear and fuselage were damaged in the incident and it is currently unable to fly.
This morning the Division’s second CASA 212 dropped shovels and picks to the crew at Bunger Hills so that they can clear the parts of the landing area affected by sastrugi (hard, ridged ice).
This will allow the second CASA to land and take-off at Bunger Hills in support of recovery operations.
Pictures and data of the damaged plane will be retrieved from the crew and sent back to Australia for expert engineering assessment.
A decision will then be made on the work that needs to be done prior to the aircraft being approved for flying.