Ethan Guo, a 20-year-old content creator and aviator, has been unable to leave King George Island in Antarctica since he illicitly touched down there in June. Upon landing, Chilean air force officials detained him for not having the proper permissions.
For several months, Guo has faced isolation while a legal battle waged far away. Now, he is legally allowed to leave — but in the dead of the Antarctic winter, he may not be able to.
King George Island, 120km off the coast of Antarctica, is home to a number of research bases owned by various countries. The most substantial permanent habitation is the small village surrounding the Chilean air force base, where Guo now resides. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
A journey around the world, interrupted
Though barely 20, Guo has been flying for years. After five years of training, he received his private pilot’s license at 17. He went on to gain his IFR rating, an additional qualification that certifies a pilot to fly in limited visibility conditions, using only instruments to navigate.
After his cousin was diagnosed with blood cancer in 2021, Guo began using his aviation to raise money by performing various feats. In his 50-year-old Cessna 182Q, Guo became the youngest person to fly to all 48 contiguous states. Then he crossed the Atlantic alone, three times.
But his most significant project, and the one that has landed him in trouble, is his ongoing journey around the world. Guo took off from Memphis, Tennessee in September of 2024, with the goal of visiting all seven continents. Over the next few months, he succeeded in touching down on six of them. Guo documented his journey on social media, where he has amassed over a million followers, as well as on his website.
By June 24, 2025, he was flying over Chile with only one continent left: Antarctica. The only issue was, he didn’t have permission to land in Antarctica.
Ethan Guo and his Cessna, ‘Whisky Tango.’ Photo: Shutterstock
Unauthorized flight
Guo left Punta Arenas en route to Ushuaia, the capital of Tierra del Fuego. This was the flight plan he’d submitted to aviation authorities and been approved for. Instead, he continued south and landed on the Chilean-claimed King George Island.
He was immediately detained at the small airport and charged with landing his plane there without permission. The prosecution alleged that Guo had lied about his plans to fly to Ushuaia, that he had always intended to land in Antarctica.
A safety decision?
But Guo was firm from the beginning that his landing was a last-minute safety decision. A combination of instrument malfunction and ice on the wings had made it unsafe, and he’d made for the nearest flat place to land — Antarctica.
In an interview with Spanish-language newspaper El País, Guo’s lawyer, Javier Barrientos, asserted that Guo had communicated his emergency change of flight plan over text to a senior official and had received the go-ahead. But, Barrientos explained, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation had failed to inform prosecutors of this fact.
The case has now been settled, with Ethan Guo agreeing to pay $30,000 to a children’s cancer charity and to leave Chile as soon as possible. He will not be allowed to return for three years.
Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva, where Guo is grounded. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Stuck on King George Island
The “as soon as possible” clause is turning out to be a bit of a sticking point. Guo’s only options are to finance a ship to take him back to South America or to hire a plane. Commercial flights from the island are paused for the winter, and officials have so far refused to let him use his own plane to leave.
Flying back to the tip of South America means crossing the infamous Drake Passage in winter. Chile’s aviation authority claims the little Cessna is not capable of it. They cited the lack of an anti-icing system, expired lifejackets, and a possible lack of fuel.
Guo thinks his plane is up to the task and is understandably reluctant to leave his trusty plane behind. Until they find a compromise, he’s stuck on the island.
Nineteen when he landed, Ethan Guo turned 20 on the air base. His captors-turned-hosts gifted him some pieces of chocolate to celebrate. But for Guo, life there has been difficult and isolating. With a limited internet connection and a harsh, freezing landscape outside, he spends most of his time alone in his small room, reading.
This is the second time King George Island has been in the news recently. Earlier this year, Polish scientists found the body of a researcher who fell into a glacial crevasse 66 years ago.
