PUNTA ARENAS, Chile (AP) — An American social media influencer who has been caught in a Chilean airbase in Antarctica for 2 months after touchdown a aircraft there with out permission was launched on Saturday again to the mainland, the place he was to pay $30,000 in penalties.
Ethan Guo, who was 19 when he started his fundraising mission for most cancers analysis, was trying to turn into the youngest individual to fly solo to all seven continents.
However he was detained after Chilean authorities stated he lied to officers by offering authorities with “false flight plan data.” Prosecutors stated he had been licensed to solely fly over Punta Arenas in southern Chile, however that he stored going south, heading for Antarctica in his Cessna 182Q — a single-engine gentle plane identified for its versatility.
After he landed in Chile’s Antarctic territory on June 28, he was detained in a navy base amid authorized negotiations between his attorneys and the federal government. Guo, who’s initially from Tennessee and turned 20 in July, spent two months dwelling within the base with restricted communications and freezing Antarctic winter temperatures plunging under zero.
He was launched by a Chilean decide on the situation that he donate the tens of 1000’s of {dollars} raised to a childhood most cancers basis inside 30 days and go away the nation as quickly as doable. He’s additionally banned from coming into Chilean territory for 3 years.
The influencer’s lawyer Jaime Barrientos advised The Related Press that Guo landed as a result of he needed to divert his plane as a result of poor climate situations, and that he did obtain authorization from Chilean authorities.
“To his surprise, when he was about to take off back to Punta Arenas he was arrested, in a process that from my perspective was a total exaggeration,” Barrientos stated.
Barrientos stated he was pleased with the settlement struck with authorities.
Guo landed Saturday at Punta Arenas aboard a navy ship carrying a Chilean nationwide soccer staff jersey and appeared pleasant with the press after disembarking, describing his detention as “mundane” expertise with “limited freedoms”.
“The Chilean people have been incredibly hospitable, they’ve been fantastic people. They’ve taken care of me. They’ve taught me Spanish, and they’ve treated me like family,” he stated.
Initially Revealed: September 6, 2025 at 12:02 PM PDT
