The Point of No Return is different for each flight. It depends on factors like the kind of plane and the weight of the cargo it is carrying. Once the plane passes this point, it does not have enough fuel to make it back to Christchurch. The plane must land no matter what the conditions in McMurdo. The decision to cross that point is something that the pilots do not take lightly. In any given year, 15-20% of the time they turn back giving passengers the experience of Antarctica flight scenario 3 – the Antarctic boomerang, so named after a curved weapon that when thrown properly flies in a curved path that returns to the person who threw it.

Two hours into the flight we weren’t sure what was going to happen. Two hours later still not sure. Four and a half hours in, Kevin Bliss, an information technology person going down, looked out the window he was lucky to be sitting near and saw pack ice. We crowded around. Another hour and the mountains of the Victoria Range were visible. Six hours forty six minutes after takeoff, according to Ray’s watch, we experienced Antarctica flight scenario 4 – we actually touched down! Welcome to McMurdo Station, boomed the pilot over the intercom. The weather is mostly cloudy and the temperature is 0° C.