Chilean authorities in Antarctica arrested a 19-year-old American influencer flying around the world, accusing him of changing flight plans and landing illegally.
The attorney general for Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica said on Instagram that the teen, Ethan Guo, took off from Presidente Carlos Ibanez del Campo International Airport in Punta Arenas, Chile, in a single-engine Cessna 182Q Saturday but soon ran into trouble.
Chilean prosecutors allege that Mr. Guo submitted a fake flight plan, with the teen saying he would be flying only over Punta Arenas but then flew to the South Pole’s Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin Airport without proper authorization.
The attorney general’s office also said Mr. Guo reported his plane as lost, which also violated Chilean law. The young pilot has since been detained by authorities where the South American country has a territorial claim.
On his website, Mr. Guo said he wants to become the first person to fly to all seven of Earth’s continents in a small aircraft to raise $1 million for cancer research via St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Mr. Guo’s lawyer, Karina Ulloa, said that “while already in the air, he began to experience a series of complications” and that he claims “he was conducting an exploratory flight to see if he could follow this route or not,” according to CNN.
Mr. Guo will have to stay in Chile for 90 days as its authorities investigate the case, according to the news network.
