One 19-year-old pilot has found himself in legal trouble after landing his plane in Antarctica without gaining proper authorization, and the heft fine he's having to pay out has now been revealed.
The dangerous nature of flying a plane means that there's always going to be a chance for something to go wrong, and that more often than not forces you to land in an area that you probably otherwise shouldn't.
You can look back nearly 100 years to Amelia Earhart's disappearance to understand quite how dangerous flying can be in the wrong scenarios, yet not following the right protocol can land you in a lot of hot water as one YouTuber found out when he purposefully crashed his plane.
One pilot attempting a global challenge has also experienced this after landing unexpectedly in part of Antarctica, as he now faces hefty consequences and legal uncertainty.
Why was the pilot detained after landing in Antarctica?
As reported by the BBC, 19-year-old pilot Ethan Guo was taken into custody in June of this year after authorities claim that he illegally landed his plane on King George Island — a Chilean territory just to the north of Antarctica.
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Guo was in the process of completing a solo flight trip around the world in order to raise $1,000,000 for cancer research before his journey was brought to an abrupt halt by the legal system, and he remains still in an uncertain situation after being detained.
Having visited six of the seven continents as part of his globe-trotting challenge, Guo informed Chilean air traffic control that he would be departing from Carlos Ibáñez del Campo Airport in Punta Arenas in order to fly over the city, as per Dexerto.
Guo's lawyer, however, claims that the pilot faced 'complications' that forced his hand and made him land on King George Island, although that still left him in legal trouble and he has since been detained for nearly two months now.
What are the legal consequences of the unauthorized landing?
Guo was initially charged on June 29 with allegedly handing false information to ground control upon his arrival to King George Island, alongside landing without authorization in the Chilean territory.
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However, as of August 11, all of these charges have been officially dropped. Guo now only has to donate $30,000 to a children's cancer foundation as a consequence of his actions, and he is also banned from re-entering Chilean territory for a period of three years.
Despite this, he remains still 'stuck' in Antarctica awaiting permission that would allow him to leave, as he has been told that extremely cold weather is stopping him from leaving the military base he has been at for the last six weeks.
"I remain in Antarctica awaiting approval for my departure flight," Guo explained to the Associated Press following the dropped charges. "I sincerely hope they give it to me soon so that I and my plane can continue with my original mission," he added.
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Guo was also tracking his journey across the world on his social media accounts, although they have remained dormant since he was detained.