US teen pilot denies giving false flight plan

American pilot Ethan Guo poses for the photographer in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, before his take off from Geneva Airport for attempting a world record solo flight to all seven continents. —SAVATORE DI NOLFI/KEYSTONE VIA AP, FILE

SANTIAGO, Chile—Ethan Guo, an American pilot and influencer who has been trapped in Antarctica for several weeks, maintained on Wednesday that he is “innocent” of the accusations against him, after being charged by Chilean authorities with submitting a false flight plan to reach the White Continent.

Guo was charged on June 29 with handing false information to ground control and landing without authorization, but on Monday a judge dropped the charges as part of an agreement with his lawyers and Chile’s prosecutors. It requires the teen to give a $30,000 donation to a children’s cancer foundation within 30 days to avoid a trial. He must also leave the country as soon as conditions allow and is prohibited from reentering Chilean territory for three years.

‘Instrument failures’

According to Guo’s defense, the teen pilot was granted authorizations to deviate his initial route—from Punta Arenas, southern Chile, to Ushuaia, Argentina—and land at Teniente Marsh base in Chilean Antarctica due to “weather and technical circumstances.”

“My client’s actions are protected by a presumption of legality arising from the authorizations expressly granted by various DGAC ( Directorate General of Civil Aviation) officials,” his lawyer Jaime Barrientos said.

According to Barrientos, evidence was presented that “Mr. Guo informed the DGAC as soon as possible of the change to the filed flight plan, receiving express authorization to land at said aerodrome.”

Guo, who turned 20 during his stay in Antarctica in July and has maintained his innocence, said in a statement sent to The Associated Press (AP) that during his original journey he “encountered instrument failures and heavy, unreported icing conditions” which created “an imminent risk of a crash.”

“Due to these cascading failures, Mr. Guo requested and received explicit, direct permission to land at the Marsh base from a high ranking DGAC official via WhatsApp, an authorization that was subsequently confirmed by the base’s air traffic controller,” it said.