19-year-old Ethan Guo has been left flying without wings, as the influencer has spent months trapped in one of the most remote places on Earth after he was accused of illegally landing his plane there.
While Guo's intentions were noble, he's gained worldwide notoriety for the wrong reasons while trying to raise money for his 'Flight Against Cancer' cause. The American influencer and teen pilot hoped to collect money for childhood cancer research by being the youngest pilot to fly solo to all seven continents in his tiny plane.
There's been a recent spate of social media personalities learning the hard way about why you don't screw with the laws of other countries, like the YouTuber who visited the outlawed North Sentinel Island and Vitaly Zdorovetskiy facing a lengthy sentence in a Filipino prison.
Places are forbidden for a reason, but unfortunately for Ethan Guo, he's about to realize that.
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Having set off from Memphis, Tennessee, Guo had been making good progress of around 25,000 miles every 50 days, although things soon came crashing down (thankfully not literally).
Despite having raised $131,000 of a proposed $1 million goal, Guo had his wings clipped when he landed in the Chilean territory of Antarctica. An official investigation was launched after Guo reportedly provided false flight plan information. This means he was left marooned in Antarctica, with his last Instagram post charting a flight over the Philippines on June 23.
Guo took off in his Cessna 182Q aircraft from Punta Arenas' Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Airport, but after being diverted to an airfield in Chilean Antarctic territory, he was detained.
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In a video posted to X, Regional Prosecutor Cristian Crisosto Rifo maintained: "The accused provided false information to the aeronautical authority. He submitted a flight plan indicating that he was going to fly over the city of Punta Arenas.
"However, he continued on his way to Antarctica without any information or authorization, landing at the Lieutenant Rodolfo Marsh Base in Chilean Antarctic territory."
Guo's defense said he’d faced 'complications' that forced him to land at the Antarctic base.
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Even though Guo was only required to stay in Chilean territory instead of on the military base, an especially bad winter has left him trapped there.
Chilean prosecutor Cristián Crisoto reiterated that Guo's plane currently "does not have the capabilities to make a flight," although he's supposedly discussing ways to see if he can fly it.
The young influencer was charged with handing false information to ground control and landing without authorization on June 29, but on August 11, a judge dropped the charges due to an agreement between Guo's lawyers and Chilean prosecutors. This stipulates that the young pilot must donate $30,000 to a children's cancer fund in the next 30 days, or he'll face a trial.
Guo must also leave the country as soon as possible and is banned from visiting Chilean territory for at least three years, but in a text message after the charges were dropped, he said he was "relieved by the outcome."
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Discussing his current situation with the Associated Press, Guo concluded: "I remain in Antarctica awaiting approval for my departure flight. I sincerely hope they give it to me soon so that I and my plane can continue with my original mission."