Why Planes Fly Over The North Pole But Not The South Pole

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Video written by Ben Doyle
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[@Pining_for_the_fjords]

I've flown over the Poles many times, especially when flying between the Germans and the Lithuanians.

[@andreasmaier7603]

Took a few to get it - you made my day!

[@petersmythe6462]

The Germans flew over the poles a lot in the 30s and 40s. The Poles were NOT happy about it.

[@samsunguser3148]

The Poles got trampled a lot

[@hahayes1220]

@@petersmythe6462 me, a pole: 🧍🏼

[@Dominus_Potatus]

Oh my... as nom European, I was confused until I search Lithuania lmao

[@Zharath]

Flat Earthers: 👀👀👀

[@NineEyeRon]

In the FEM planes can fly over the North Pole but not the south.

[@kayb4490]

@@NineEyeRon i think his point is the flat earthers would hear can’t fly over the South Pole and take that to prove their point

[@assasin19991999]

Flat earth is real, because the lizards dont want us to know the secret, you know, the one the powerful keep, I can see more than you, the lizards are all around me and talk to me telling that they keep secrets, for you know...

[@maskofice9432]

@@assasin19991999 man you believe that lizardman propaganda? That was deliberately leaked to hide the real group in control of the world the Owlmen. They govern everything in their Court of Owls and are hiding the fact the Earth is actually in the shape of a pear

[@jackputnam4273]

@@kayb4490 because they think antarctica is a giant ice wall

[@PieroBsampaio]

As someone who just moved to Perth from Brazil, I really wish there was a direct flight from Buenos Aires to Perth. That would have saved me a lot of time

[@Secretlyanothername]

How did you fly to Brazil? Up to Dubai and then down again?

[@bixumbi]

I'm guessing Brazil to Buenos Aires/Santiago, to Sydney, and Sydney to Perth

[@PieroBsampaio]

From Brazil to Perth the closest route is through the Middle East

[@bixumbi]

Makes sense, my bad

[@Frenchy78ify]

It doesn happen on the flat plane ;)

[@Celebr8Crafts]

Have flown the Sydney to Johannesburg flight a few times and it's fascinating seeing the edge of Antarctica (especially in winter). A viable route would be Auckland to Johannesburg which would fly straight over. There are a lot people traveling between the countries, but have to go via Sydney currently.

[@EdVonPelt]

I mean, you'd need a 747, an A340 or an A380 to fly that. And out of those 3, the 340 is probably the only plane you could consistently expect to fill, but they are mostly retired by now.

[@jamesn.economou9922]

No, it wouldn't. that would be hundreds of miles, out of the way. Look at globe.

[@akorn9943]

That pilot safety video was beautiful holy shit “2001: *A YEAR THAT WILL NO DOUBT SHAPE UP GREAT FOR THE CONCEPT OF AIRPLANES.”~*

[@TheGreatGritzy]

Well didn't that just age like milk

[@SomeRandomPiggo]

"due to the presence of dark ma- science"

[@yeoldeseawitch]

JFCMSB

[@ericschultz4004]

January - August was great, at least ...

[@niagarawarrior9623]

@@Stevie-J i nearly exited the video outright because of all the distortion effects. the audio was tolerable, the visual was terrible. I do love Half-as-Interesting content but i could do without those distortions.

[@forgottenfamily]

I'm disappointed that there was no mention of last month's charter flight from Buenos Aires to Darwin, Australia using a polar route which currently boasts the record for longest commercial flight.

[@AxxLAfriku]

I am so unpretty 😭 When I go to the bank, they turn the cameras off. At least I am a big star on KZbin. So don't feel too bad for me, dear go

[@jsgwam]

@@kinoposts do you know who Lord AxxL is?

[@LouAlvis]

please will someone tell about that flight to the FLAT EARTHERS

[@forestreee]

@@kinoposts Lucky you, you never knew about A*xl until now.

[@hbrown689]

​@@LouAlvis This flight can't have happened as Australia isn't real

[@Mamba-Kush]

"it's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled"

[@stylesrj]

And you can trick people into believing whatever you want them to believe by just reciting that mantra to them.

[@X._HATRED_.X]

​@@stylesrj sheeps. Did flat earth theory ruin your alien fantasy??

[@stylesrj]

@@X._HATRED_.X Nope. Flat Earthers helped me write alien fantasies.

[@stryk3r]

@@X._HATRED_.X They threw flat earth theory in there so that everyone forgets about hollow earth and Agartha

[@Attaxalotl]

@@stryk3r Flat Earth, Hollow Earth, and the like are all psyops by various three-letter agencies (Russia's FSB, our CIA, China's MSS, etc.) to incite meaningless divisions and distract from the fact that none of the world leaders have any idea what they're doing, about half of all our Congressmembers are eligible for social security benefits (and as such carry "screw you, got mine" energy in a profession that requires the exact opposite of that), and we're all flying by the seat of our pants.

[@es2056]

In June 2010 I flew from Newark, NJ to Hong Kong. Because of the volcanic eruptions in Iceland at the time our flight was re-routed to fly north to the arctic then west to Asia and then south to Hong Kong. While flying along the arctic circle the inside of the plane was uncomfortably cold. Not even the airline blankets helped. Not fun.

[@bagaboiebailey]

bruh

[@thisisgoodnews8043]

The air temp at cruising altitude is the same all over the world. At 30,000 feet the standard temp is -45 C. If the plane was cold it’s because one of the crew members was hot.

[@es2056]

@@thisisgoodnews8043 Then the pilot was a polar bear! LOL!

[@thisisgoodnews8043]

@@es2056 The cockpit heating and cooling is separate from the main cabin. The flight attendants control the cabin temp and they’re usually hot from running back and forth.. there’s also lots of middle aged women who work in that field and they tend to experience hot flashes in menopause. Same problem happens in nursing homes, the staff get hot and crank the air conditioning and the old people end up being too cold.

[@NYEK_GTR_]

Lol most likely bc they turned the heat down to give y’all a real experience

[@cameosix7077]

How to survive if your plane's engines fails over Antarctica 1. Have a person from southern Poland on the plane both the south poles repel each other and the plane never crashes

[@lemonade3015]

This comment exudes rage memes energy

[@grahamfisher5436]

🤣🤣🤣👍👍👍🤩

[@alunesh12345]

@@lemonade3015 Believe in JESUS today, confess and repent of your sins. No one goes to heaven for doing good but by believing in JESUS who died for our sins. GOD loves you soo much unconditionally ❤🙌😘

[@kyirid]

@@alunesh12345 lol

[@juliaf_]

@@alunesh12345 if heaven is better than earth and Jesus was guaranteed to go to heaven, wouldn't he have been happy to die

[@jasonosmond6896]

He's leaving out also that much of Antarctica's terrain has enough elevation that it requires special equipment and procedures to fly over by commercial aircraft. This is the same reason that the vast majority of commercial air routes avoid the Tibetan Plateau. (long story short, in case of loss of cabin pressure, procedure is to immediately and rapidly descend below 10,000 feet. Can't do that over Tibet or East Antarctica while maintaining safe separation from terrain, so those routes require changes to the emergency supplemental oxygen systems so the aircraft can stay at higher altitudes longer).

[@SacGeoTV]

Untrue

[@jasonosmond6896]

​@@SacGeoTV You make a persuasive and well supported argument.

[@vicovideocompilationsetc6991]

@@SacGeoTV Where's your factual evidence that makes you say that hist statement is untrue? Well, the burden of proof is on the accuser, so yeah.

[@damien4197]

@@vicovideocompilationsetc6991 Well, on one hand, the burden of proof is actually on the one asserting the original position, "making the claim", (Jason, in this case)... ...on the other hand, Rob did literally nothing to back up his dispute, and there's enough readily falsifiable information in the claim that context and community standards would make this relatively easy were he correct.

[@jasonosmond6896]

@@damien4197 I'm glad you asked! If it helps anyone, they can start with ICAO Document 1168, Part 2, Section III, "Minimum Obstacle Clearance Altitude" (requires at least 1000 feet clearance above maximum terrain elevation in the sector), and ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices Annex 6 Part 1 Chapter 4, Section 3.8 "Oxygen Supply" (requires sufficient oxygen for crew and passengers for all flight where cabin pressure is higher than 10,000 feet). Then note that much of East Antarctica consists of elevations above 10,000 feet with a significant area above 14,000 feet (there's a nice map on the East Antarctica Wikipedia page), and that the emergency descent altitude recommendations are to a "pressure altitude", and in Antarctica pressure altitudes may be as much as 2,000 feet *below* the nominal sea level altitude! Thus, to descend below 10,000 feet pressure altitude may require descending below 9,000 or even 8,000 feet above sea level.

[@zunaidparker]

Flown Sydney-Johannesburg a couple of times. Always sit on the left side to get a wonderful view of Antarctica out the window.

[@gowhales3002]

There was a touristic sightseeing flight from New Zealand in the 70's that ended in a fatal accident where all 257 pax and crew died crushing in to mount erubus at 300mph.

[@downundanow5569]

A McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 on a sightseeing flight over Antarctica, flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, killing all 257 people on board. An unannounced change in flight path coordinates by the airline's navigational division the morning of the accident, combined with unique Antarctic weather and conditions, resulted in the aircraft crashing into Mount Erebus when the flight crew thought they were safely flying down McMurdo Sound. The crash and subsequent inquiry resulted in major changes in Air New Zealand's management.

[@adog3129]

lol

[@user-sn5zs9qh4w]

Hitting the dome is an instant death wish admiral birds pilot's learn the hard way

[@user-ek1to4gq3h]

And I would not trust a MD 10 on such a flight@@downundanow5569

[@peppershakergaming3793]

What dome?@@user-sn5zs9qh4w

[@MrSaemichlaus]

The poles are actually a very nice bunch, but they don't feel like driving trucks in the UK anymore.

[@cybersquire]

ROFL

[@NoNameAtAll2]

the vid said you can't fly over them without training

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

They're still around for pole vaulting.

[@hahayes1220]

💀💀

[@Hideyoshi1991]

Kombedy

[@uhmnope4787]

There is an airport in Antarctica capable of landing and starting (but not refueling) an A340 that flies there from South Africa. So technically there is an aiport suitable even for larger aircraft, but they do not have the facilities to service an aircraft in the event of an emergency and I can imagine that they have to prepare the runway in advance too, since it's basically just ice. Also fun fact: airlines restrict how often their crew can fly close to or over the poles each month because of how strong the cosmic radiation is (something something Earth's magnetic field being weaker and all).

[@fakeAratPrime42069]

Also ice and snow like to reflect a lot of sunlight wich you know what? Means even more radiation from our overweight ball of hidrogen and helium buddy,the Sun :D

[@Teampegleg]

While you can land and take off there, would it be suitable to safely care for an aircraft full of passengers? And would there be charter flights available to evacuate the passengers in a timely manner? And that airport probably isn't available during the winter either, so any route using that airport as a diversion airport would be limited to the summer.

[@fakeAratPrime42069]

@@Stevie-J If you say it like that it sounds brutal,and that's not even considering the icy wasteland that Antartica is.

[@uhmnope4787]

@@Stevie-J depends on ETOPS

[@uhmnope4787]

@@Teampegleg if it's safe for the aircraft to land, it's safe for the passengers. Only issue is that there is no reason to land there except to deliver cargo or have an emergency landing. Seasonal availability is irrelevant because it's pretty much always winter there. I'd look out for weather though. Storms on open flats are nasty.

[@qdllc]

I would say the obvious reason is that if anything happens, getting a rescue team in there would be next to zero. Maybe the north pole isn't much better, but you're closer to well-developed countries with rescue capabilities.

[@jessicaandtrains7768]

It's water at the North Pole unlike the solid terrain at the south Pole with secret military bases. Starting with Operation Highjump

[@Moonstone-Redux]

It's quite interesting that there are a lot of human settlements beyond 65° North and a whole lot of actual country territory, but if you go below 65° South you basically get nothing but Antarctica.

[@lardgedarkrooster6371]

Yeah. There are more countries in the north very close to (or even sometimes govern) the north pole that have rescue teams specifically trained for arctic rescues (the closest being America, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Russia). Can't say the same about the south. Nobody goes to Antarctica, it's too cold, dangerous, and isolated and the closest countries are basically Argentina, Britain, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. I don't think any of these are equipped to handle a rescue mission in Antarctica, especially not for potentially up to 300 people

[@KeitieKalopsia]

Before watching the video, I’m going to make my guess. The Arctic is probably more hospitable than the Antarctic because there’s more civilization closer by and is more accessible rather than being landlocked into a giant continent. If a plane were having trouble flying through the Antarctic, there would be no nearby place to land, but there might be more possible landing spots due to a longer history of sparse habitation in the Arctic.

[@tzikhan5546]

And humans been to the moon and space station multiple times safe and sound

[@no_more_spamplease5121]

​@@tzikhan5546 Not with airplanes, though. 🛫

[@prasektinanda8824]

​@@no_more_spamplease5121Then why not try flying through Antartica with a rocket?

[@chiragsingla.]

​@@tzikhan5546and that costed money

[@TheGroovyGuitarDude]

You forgot the main reason we can’t fly over the South Pole… People would see the big hole in the middle of Antarctica 👀😂

[@strangelic4234]

Nuh. Before you can see the hole, you'll get intercepted by the Reichsflugscheiben of the Hollow Earth Nazis.

[@minecrafting_il]

I don't get the joke

[@andreasmaier7603]

@@minecrafting_il The joke is about the flat earthers, I guess.

[@minecrafting_il]

@@andreasmaier7603 but don't they say that Antarctica is a icewall sorounding the flat earth?

[@maxthexpfarmer3957]

It’s about hollow earth theory

[@herodesees3767]

0:37 The line on the map showing 78 degrees north is actually the polar circle at 66 degrees north. Longyearbyen is at 78 degrees north so that line should go right through Svalbard instead

[@nortex010]

I came here to say this. Glad I wasn't the only one to notice it

[@zakm0n]

Congrats on making the next mistakes episode.

[@monaxide1]

@@zakm0n I came here to say this.

[@042_dhruvbhingradiya7]

Agreed

[@matthijsdeboer9932]

Also, it might be a language thing, but it's not correct to say 'above' or 'below' a latitude, it should be 'north of' and 'south of'.

[@jackamos9828]

ETOPS: Engines Turn or Passengers Swim

[@ArielMantovani]

July 7 1980, Aerolineas Argentina's first transpolar flight with a 747-287B (LV-MLR) from Buenos Aires to Auckland (with a stop in Rio Gallegos for refueling). As a curiosity, the plane was towed up to the beginning of the runway at RGL, and once there, started the engines to takeoff. The 747-200 were the plane that made that flight until June of 1999 when Aerolineas Argentinas bought some A340. With that plane, the flight was made non-stop from EZE to AKL.

[@jackielinde7568]

Speaking of Sightseeing flights over the South Pole, Kelsey of the KZbin channel 74Gear has made an offer than if a group of flat earther's wanted to prove the earth is flat, (and were paying to cover the trip) he would help them secure the plane, plot the route and fly it himself. So far, no one has taken him up on his offer.

[@colmreynolds9869]

Why would a flat earther ever agree to that?

[@jackielinde7568]

@@colmreynolds9869 There are flat earthers willing to try to prove their cause. There was the guy who was making steam powered rockets (no joke) to try to disprove that the Earth is round. But you're right. Like James Randi's $1 Million prize to prove pseudoscience works, the ones who know what they're preaching is a scam won't bite.

[@jackielinde7568]

@@Stevie-J Well, Kelsey does make 474 pilot money, but that's as first officer and not captain. I don't think he has the cash to make it happen. However, he has the connections to help those with the cash to make it happen.

[@niagarawarrior9623]

the majority of flat earthers would never agree to pay for a trip to south pole and back, either they dont have the disposable income or they simply don't believe what they preach. Like a lot of conspiracy theorists, they just like having something to complain about. Its funny, a few years ago i would have said the flat earther conspiracy theorists were some the most ignorant people. then that whole Q group showed up....

[@jackielinde7568]

@@Stevie-J Oh, I'm pretty sure he knows they're not going to take him up on it. I think it was mostly to get people in the comment section to stop accusing him of "perpetuating the round world myth." (Odd, I don't see him getting any accusations of being in on the contrail stuff. As for me, I know the real danger is the jet exhaust, but who's worried about a little carbon monoxide?) As for the Steam Rocket guy? I don't know. It's my recommendation for anyone willing to prove/disprove the thing, and it can be done a lot cheaper. If you want to know about the steam rocket guy, here's his wiki page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Hughes_(daredevil)

[@projectember728]

It kinda makes sense because of how isolated Antarctica is from other continents. So if any problems happened you’re probably not going to get help because of how difficult it would be to get to you.

[@lonestarr1490]

And even if it were easier to get to you, it's still fuckin' cold down there, so nobody would _want_ to help you.

[@foxbat1766]

Or, if you're flat earther, the ice wall...

[@Stasiek_Zabojca]

Well, North Pole is also quite isolated 😃

[@SyNcLife]

And now imagine that 100 years ago! Thats the story of Ernest Shackleton.

[@cucuawe465]

@@Stasiek_Zabojca south pole extra isolated

[@brianmcghee9313]

Why do I get the eerie feeling we’re in the trueman show

[@stylesrj]

Because you watch too much Hollywood?

[@mynamemylastname7179]

because you are.

[@Frenchy78ify]

@@stylesrj did hollywood explain we don't have a moob base since1972 ? Im pretty sure they showed us how we supposedly went tho. sheep man

[@CaptainAmericano722]

because... cold? I'm not convinced because the temperature in the flight level is extremely low everywhere.

[@H3CL]

Not if you make a crash landing.

[@CaptainAmericano722]

@@H3CL then what is the difference between north pole and south under the circumstance of crash?

[@H3CL]

@@CaptainAmericano722 The North Pole Is much closer to civilized areas where rescue can come quckly I think. I don't take these videos that seriously, Qantas QF14 Flight actually crosses part of Antarctica, so...

[@0Clewi0]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ6xn6CvgceDeqc there is an aviation accident that shows what is the limit, there are other videos that just talk about the fuel freezing but haven't watched them.

[@Frenchy78ify]

@@H3CL And the south poles are strictly rtestricted to anyone, you go there by yourself you die. You forgot to mention that. Oh and they are also apparent ruins and pyramids visible from "space". They dont want to explain why a civilization was present in the south pole. Get outta here with your sheep answer

[@KC-rd3gw]

My grandpa used to fly DC-3s for ice observation for environment Canada up in the north pole in the 60s and 70s. He's got plenty of crazy stories like flying below 300ft for 6+ hours because visibility was so bad and reporting on Russian fishing vessel locations. He used to use gyro compasses when he got far enough north.

[@keithkelso9872]

So he worked for the cia?

[@Sembazuru]

Yeah, magnetic compasses get twitchy when the flux lines divert too much from hozontal like they do when you get close to the magnetic poles. Also, the closer you are to the magnetic poles the more often you have to change the inclination correction to true North.

[@stynnieuwenhuis9999]

They go on true track and not magnetic track in northern airspace

[@leonardocaceres2540]

Your granfather was a true heroe...

[@WanJae42]

ETOPS, by the way, stands for "Engines Turn or Passengers Swim"

[@alilabeebalkoka]

That makes no sense when considering that planes crash on land as well! But this is interesting to know.

[@matpk]

@@alilabeebalkoka But Covid KILL Cats No more travel next year kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKG0d3aZiK5jprc

[@Vengir]

@@alilabeebalkoka In reality it's "Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards", but "Engine Turn or Passengers Swim" is a pretty funny joke.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

That joke makes a pretty good explanation.

[@joule400]

@@alilabeebalkoka in that case the passanger can swim in the sea of flames around them

[@crabbycreates2943]

It's more complicated than I realized before. We flew from Norway/Amsterdam to Salt Lake City in late July, 2022 and the airline provided a video simulating the real-time progress of the plane I was sitting in. Weird in itself, but what I never thought of before is how they determine the flight path. It's like slicing the planet into two pieces with one end of the blade at the start point and the other at the destination, then following that cut line at altitude above the surface. We flew over all sorts of terrain and bodies of water, small and large cities and towns I've never heard of, and huge expanses of open spaces. All educational and fascinating. It took for-e-ver and passengers clearly showed their fatigue and pain from sitting too long. The airline provided a steady stream of movies, meals and snacks to alleviate some of the boredom. Worth mentioning were the airports. EVERY ONE of them was under construction, requiring heroic navigation just to get to the next damn gate. Not one level, direct route! On the short flight from SLC to Tucson, the pilot had to dodge and weave through a seemingly endless series of thunderstorms to keep the plane as level and smooth as possible. Excellent, world-class piloting!!! Entertaining for me (Even through blurry eyes, I could see each storm as we approached) and undoubtedly fun for those in the cockpit. 😎

[@LosJoshh]

0:23 I don’t know if he planned to say it like that but the way his voice played along with the background music was amazing

[@Teampegleg]

ETOPS is no longer just a twin engine thing, it was extended to all aircraft, which put the death nail to some operators that due to safety reasons couldn't get ETOPS ratings and attempted to get around it by buying retired four engine aircraft.

[@korakys]

Interesting, I did not know that. (It's "death knell" by the way.)

[@TomasPetrik]

ETOPS was also a reason for the popularity of trijets.

[@rkan2]

With four engines (or even the decadent three) an australian crew should rather trivially be able to fly right across the pole... Do they even need SCENT in there? Probably some features of it but I doubt that they would require everything.

[@Teampegleg]

@@rkan2 ETOPS planning requirements became standard for quads and tris because it was found that in most cases where a twin jet will lose both engines, a tri or a quad will lose all their engines as well. As those are often cause by contaminated fuel, or environmental factors (like volcanic ash). So it is their opinion that having more engines doesn't necessarily make an aircraft safer.

[@cjgeist]

@@Teampegleg I thought the idea of ETOPS was pretty much based on safely landing with one engine. Dual engine failures are extremely rare and I assume if it happened anywhere near ETOPS limits they would have to land in the water.

[@MrDomingo55]

I have flown from Sydney to Buenos Aires twice, 2010 and 2011. We did not fly over the pole but we certainly flew over the ice and whether this was sea ice on the edge of Antartica or ice on continent itself, I don't know. Needless to say, there was no possibility of landing anywhere on route if there was emergency. As for cold, its cold up there at 10km height, whether over Antartica or over Africa.

[@jasonreed7522]

The thing about it being cold is that atmospheric temperature at a given altitude is estimated as a deduction in temperature from ground temperature determined by your height. (Technically at really high elevations it gets hot again but that is so far above commercial aircraft I'm ignoring it, thats the thermosphere and it has an air density of nothing) This matters because fuels like diesel and kerosene have a tendency to gell up at low temperatures (also icing of the wings). So you must maintain a minimum fuel temperature or your fuel goes from a liquid to jello and nolonger flows to your engines. I know ground diesel engines have fuel additives but over the poles its probably so cold that even with the best addatives the fuel can still gell. (For reference diesel can gell below 32°F but its most problematic below 15°F, so you can imagine how bad it is over Antarctica) My point is that even if its cold way up in the sky everywhere, being over the poles is just enough of a bit colder than elsewhere as to pass critical points for the plane)

[@foxboy6662]

@@jasonreed7522 Well there are fuels for cold temperature. Since planes fly above the north pole the temperature itself is not a restriction. It's the geography and the distance to the closest airport that are a restriction.

[@alunesh12345]

@@jasonreed7522 Believe in JESUS today, confess and repent of your sins. No one goes to heaven for doing good but by believing in JESUS who died for our sins. GOD loves you soo much unconditionally ❤🙌😘

[@Anon54387]

I wouldn't mind being a truck driver in the UK since the whole country is smaller than California. Being a truck driver in the USA would really not be a pleasant job since this country is so huge. One is so often separated from friends and family.

[@bob_._.]

Yes, airliners fly at very cold altitudes, but the concern is if the plane should have to make an emergency landing - and is able to do so relatively successfully - the passengers most likely aren't going to have arctic gear in their carry-ons.

[@priztucker]

Love these unique informative videos man. What A Time to be alive.

[@Hammer0117]

I live in Bloomington, Minnesota. I can confirm the existence of an M&M store.

[@The_Geezus]

This whole video could have just been: *Opening - topic concept summary* Sam: Engines Turn Or Passengers Swim. *Roll credits*

[@Leonardohummel]

jokes on you south pole, In Argentina our economy can`t afford those trips anyway

[@brettschmidt5929]

Qantas is doing commercial sightseeing flights from Australia to Antarctica (and back again). I went on such a flight on November 20th, 2022. We went as far south as Mt Discovery (about 78°S).

[@zddxddyddw]

You failed to mention that there was one transpolar commercial flight in the past, the route between Buenos Aires and Sydney developed and operated by Aerolineas Argentinas. There are videos of those flights on KZbin showing how they flew over Antarctica.

[@CosmiaNebula]

Summary: because airlines are required to fly within the ETOPS-180 zone, the zone that is at most 180 minutes-of-flight away from a suitable airport for emergency landing. And it happens that the Arctic zone is in the ETOPS-180 but not the Antarctic.

[@mehere8038]

I never knew about this until this video, now I want to know how celebrities fly LA to Sydney so often & seemingly easily - even flying illegally with their dogs in the little planes & then organising a flight on the same route, just for their dogs when the Australian government advises the dogs will be euthinased if not removed from the country immediately

[@rdelrosso2001]

@@mehere8038 : Well, I don't know "who let the dogs out", but if you look at a map, "LA to Sydney, Australia, does not take you over Antartica!

[@LuigiLuigi728]

I often fly between Hong Kong and New York, and I've seen some crazy scenes of endless ice and snow over (probably) Greenland! It's really cool! (quite literally)

[@HomersIlliad]

I've never seen as much white as I did flying over Greenland.

[@macjc5]

Yes, Greenland on same route. From north pole I could see Novaya Zemlya Island in the distance!

[@stevenirby5576]

Yeah flying over Greenland is great. Definitely recommend the window seat. ;)

[@kickedinthecalfbyacow7549]

I can’t see why you would be over Greenland on that route

[@storrow10]

Hong Kong to NYC would fly over pacific while Greenland is in Atlantic 🤨

[@andersjjensen]

Man I love HAI: Presenting a non-problem as a problem to make an interesting talking point about a tangent topic, only to reveal that the non-problem was, in fact, a non-problem all along!

[@mwroysan]

Flew from Johannesburg to Sydney in 2019...I saw the ice of Antarctica. What a view. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@nicolast95]

Before the covid19 crisis in the industry, Latam was flying the B787 between Santiago de Chile and Melbourne Australia, not over the pole but south enough to see the aurora australis

[@alunesh12345]

Believe in JESUS today, confess and repent of your sins. No one goes to heaven for doing good but by believing in JESUS who died for our sins. GOD loves you soo much unconditionally ❤🙌😘

[@leonfulcher8548]

@@alunesh12345 Go peddle your sick, brainwashing lies and propaganda somewhere else. I don’t think it will play good with most aviation enthusiasts.

[@83hjf]

aerolíneas operated buenos aires-sydney from 1980 to 2014

[@simonm1447]

@@alunesh12345 I'm pretty sure Jesus would prefer an A 350 flight in business class over a 787

[@Frenchy78ify]

@@simonm1447 Im pretty sure jesus said the arth was flat and that there is a firmament over our head. Thus why space / NASA is fake and why we dont have a base on the moon since 1972.

[@DavidGuild]

TLDW: The northernmost airports are close enough to the North Pole for emergencies, but if you flew over Antarctica then you'd be SOL if something goes wrong.

[@alunesh12345]

Believe in JESUS today, confess and repent of your sins. No one goes to heaven for doing good but by believing in JESUS who died for our sins. GOD loves you soo much unconditionally ❤🙌😘

[@MaryamMaqdisi]

I'm Sol . . . I'll see myself out

[@dallynsr]

Stupid Ole Lady? (sol)

[@stab456]

@@alunesh12345 if you care about god and jesus you should probably stop using emojis. This is real schizo sht, but some of the emojis are designed after demonic sigils from the lesser key of solomon. Jesus wouldn't be too happy with that worship of false idols.

[@mcmc7746]

Lol, is that what the news man told you?

[@candycorn-]

holy shit he wasnt wrong theres so many flat earthers

[@lynes2peters438]

He truely wasnt

[@stryk3r]

I'm the only hollow Earther here. they get the flat-round narrative going so everyone forgets about the Germans, Agartha and the Haunebu aircrafts

[@Frenchy78ify]

@@stryk3r flat earth and hollow earth are 100% compatible. What is not compatible is the globe theory and the moon. Why dont we have a moon base since 1972 ? Nor a livestream whatsoever or decent picture of the moon. Its not far away at all. We can zoom into far away galaxies but not the moon, you needc to use your smartphone for that.

[@patrickmclaughlin61]

I flew between shanghai and toronto in 2018 over the north polar cap. It was so exciting for me although I could only see pure white.

[@picobyte]

There is more about it. There is a miles thick ice sheet there. Quote van wiki: The South Pole is at an altitude of 9,200 feet (2,800 m) but feels like 11,000 feet (3,400 m). Centrifugal force from the spin of the planet pulls the atmosphere toward the equator. That sucks when cabin pressure is lost. As pilot you want to be higher to stay clear.

[@alanlight7740]

Officially 9301 feet and atmospheric pressure equal to about 10,500 feet.

[@Sembazuru]

The pressure altitude changes on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis depending on the weather, ranging between 10kft and 12kft. So both of you are sometimes right. I've been down there 3 times (part of the massive deployment team for Ice Cube Neutrino Observatory) and it does take a couple days to acclimate to the altitude, temperature, and dry humidity. But there won't be any general commercial airlines able to use it as an emergency landing field. The runway there is compacted snow so only ski equipped planes are able to land. That said, Kenn Borek Air does run charter tourist flights in Twin Otter and Bassler (modified DC-3) airplanes. The largest plane that I've seen at the South Pole are the ski-equipped Herks (LC-130) run by the 109th Airlift Wing out od the New York Air National Guard who provide all the scientific flight logistics between McMurdo and the South Pole.

[@treecko7424]

Pedantic point, but "centrifugal" (moving away from the centre) forces do not exist in the context of circular motion. There are centripetal (moving towards the centre) forces, in this case gravity, but any "centrifugal" force is simply the inertia from an object being at motion. Anyway, even that isn't the cause of the atmosphere being pulled towards the equator. I believe it's a result of conservation of angular momentum that particles orbiting a large central body tend towards all orbiting on one plane. It's the same effect that causes the planets to all orbit around the same axis. However, due to the volume of air on earth, it can't all be on one axis so it has to spread out across the earth, while still being more dense around the equator.

[@xismxist]

sounds like excuses

[@billythorne]

My idea for a Half as Interesting video: "Why the Osaka Metro is Legally Classified as a tramway" (Look it up on Wikipedia - it's true!).

[@samiam619]

Don’t really care if it’s true or not…

[@emoglobin2195]

If you don't care whether or not useless facts are true then what the heck are you doing on this channel

[@michaeltagor4238]

"Wikipedia? You use Wikipedia as your source of information??? tsk tsk tsk"

[@samiam619]

@@emoglobin2195 So did YOU care enough if the Osaka Metro is a tramway or not? How about I have an idea for a Half as Interesting video: “ Are Republicans Brain dead or just Retarded?”

[@samiam619]

@@michaeltagor4238 If Wikipedia said that the election was stolen from tRump would you believe that? People who distrust Wikipedia get there news from Fox. tRump lost. Get over it.

[@GhafUghalansteinChenayaaiopluo]

1:17 This dude’s a legend for not saying subscribe

[@tasmanianmapping]

I have been on one of the rare, yearly sightseeing flights to Antarctica, and it is amazing! There are so many amazing things, and a lot of things are awesome!

[@anne.andromeda]

1:00 I really feel that you missed an opportunity to make a wordplay with flying over Poland

[@Deltarious]

My favourite take on the acronym ETOPS is: Engines Turn Or Passengers Swim, it's descriptive!

[@Teampegleg]

No it means Engines Turn Of Pilots Swim... once the engines stop turning it is every man for themselves.

[@benjaminsagan5861]

This reminds me of my favorite mnemonic for the Linnaean taxonomic hierarchy (Kingdom/Phylum/Class/Order/Family/Genus/Species): "Kinky People Come Over For Group S€x"

[@robertbobbypelletreaujr2173]

1.mountain airports are crazy dangerous and it takes a skilled madman of Asian descent to get it done. 2. Airports near either pole are ridiculously isolated and use other planes for resupply..

[@alecktz2677]

A friend of my flew to the Antarctica and the from near the coast more into the "land". He payed like 15.000$ per person and flew in an very old plane without modern technic and a mobile toilet strapped in the cargo room :D

[@kevwang0712]

I'm confused, judging from the title I thought this was a Wendover video

[@patrikwihlke4170]

1:55 "Give up and fly to Cancún" Good advice!

[@Tylercm262]

Love how you mentioned newer 737's etops range and showed a tin mouse. Almost missed that lol.

[@thecelticprince4949]

This ruling surprises me I've flown Three times with Aerolinius Argentinas NZ to Argentina over Antarctica, and 2x Lan Chile over Antarctica also between Santiago and NZ.

[@MrDisasterboy]

I live in Perth, Western Australia. Before the Covid-19 pandemic there was talk of a Singapore to South America commercial flight via Perth. A Norwegian airline was considering it. I think it could be popular.

[@adithyaramachandran7427]

Wendover ain't gonna be happy when he hears HAI is "taking his job". FYI, ETOPS 180 is not enough to cover some frequently used trans-pacific, trans-indian, and diagonal trans-Atlantic ocean routes (LA-Hong Kong, Sydney-Johannesburg, Paris-Sao Paulo), with trans pacific routes being the most popular.

[@charlesmadre5568]

Cathay Pacific has an all twin-engine fleet and flies HK-LA? Like most transpacific routes from HK they are routed south towards the Philippines, up along the Pacific Rim through Taiwan, Japan, Kamchatka, Alaska and then down North America till they reach LA.

[@adithyaramachandran7427]

@@charlesmadre5568 Really ? I thought Cathay pacific was retiring their A340's and replacing them with A350's. The 777, A330, and A350 are twin engine planes which are rated higher than ETOPS-180.

[@charlesmadre5568]

@@adithyaramachandran7427 Actually their fleet basically only consists of A330, A350 and 777. The rest of the fleet was just absorbed from the dissolution of Cathay Dragon.

[@martymcyourflysdown6872]

They don’t want you flying over Antarctica cuz if humans find Santas workshop they’ll ruin Christmas!

[@stylesrj]

The South Pole is where they mine the coal.

[@Son-Of-David1990]

0:51 wow the irony in all of that statement being made just months before 911

[@danielvillanueva3792]

That helicopter at 1:46 really got me 😂😂😂

[@treyn8070]

Me too 😂😂😂

[@aftabshahzad6707]

comedy style is WAY improved in this video, loving it

[@vbscript2]

For what it's worth, while ETOPS was indeed originally only for twin-engine aircraft, it actually applies to all commercial aircraft now, so even 747s, A340s, and A380s can't fly outside of their respective ETOPS ranges. ETOPS was renamed to just stand for ExTended OPerationS a while back in order to reflect this change of no longer applying exclusively to twin-engine aircraft.

[@bosslifetv1256]

1958 Americana Encyclopedia Antarctica.. they found a dome. Then the Antarctic Treaty. Don’t forget about the death of Admiral Byrd and his confessions

[@stylesrj]

Oh look, another person who reads government-issued books and believes everything government agents tells them.

[@stylesrj]

@C I wouldn't say it's harmless; Flat Earthers are never just believers in one conspiracy. They're pretty much believers in all of them. Including the dangerous ones.

[@stylesrj]

@C It's never just that with Flat Earthers though.

[@stylesrj]

@C Have you met any Flat Earthers? Or read anything made by Flat Earthers? It sounds harmless on its own, but to fall for Flat Earth means one has already fallen for a lot of other more harmful stuff. That's where the issue lies in the whole thing. It's a big red flag.

[@stylesrj]

@C Flat Earth is harmless on its own. But it never is on its own. That's the point I'm getting at here.

[@ojtheaviator1795]

Let me guess: A) Southern Hemisphere has fewer wealthy population centers and therefore less demand for routes that would save money this way. B) For similar reasons as A, as well as geographic ones, there aren't many airports to divert to in case of emergency, so ETOPS gets in the way. C) Perhaps antarctic weather is more extreme?

[@TiagoOrange]

Bang on

[@allangibson2408]

There was a regular daily flight from Santiago Chile to Melbourne Australia until Covid hit.

[@alunesh12345]

@@TiagoOrange Believe in JESUS today, confess and repent of your sins. No one goes to heaven for doing good but by believing in JESUS who died for our sins. GOD loves you soo much unconditionally ❤🙌😘

[@mastertrams]

@@alunesh12345 Could you just stop copying and pasting? Repeatedly shouting in people's faces is not the way to convert people...

[@alanlight7740]

Yes. Antarctic weather is much more extreme. It isn't uncommon around November to January for temperatures to be colder at the South Pole than at the North Pole - despite this being winter at the North Pole and summer at the South Pole. However, at altitudes of 35,000 feet the temperature is likely to be similarly cold anywhere on Earth, so this chiefly applies to what could be done in an emergency, not to normal operations of the aircraft.

[@JPTQJR]

HAI with Analog Horror is the best unexpected combo of 2021

[@p42uynot59]

There should be KZbin videos of ANY flights that would go over Antarctica. Since they’re obviously rare I’d like to see these videos become common.

[@le-jaunemorgan6563]

Gotta appreciate these edits, well done.

[@daandanx]

Because there's basically no demand for south pole flights

[@NefosG]

As someone that lives in the southern hemisphere, I can confirm there are no M&M's stores over here.

[@LuigiLuigi728]

I'm more surprised that there are no M&M stores in the entire southern hemisphere than there are no flights over the South Pole lol 😧 Australians and New Zealanders and Argentineans don't eat M&M?

[@NefosG]

@@LuigiLuigi728 Don't forget Chileans, Uruguayans and southern Brazilians (like yours truly).

[@corberus3119]

@@LuigiLuigi728 we do just not enough to need their own store

[@williamhoward13]

I was an aircraft mechanic for a while. ETOPS to us meant "Engines Turn Or People Swim." Good times

[@seanriopel3132]

The VHS "tape" was pretty sharp. I just love how every time he said the truth it cut to him saying the complete opposite and continuing on the video.

[@randomdavid]

As a resident of Perth who wants to visit South America someday whenever covid is over, I want to fly direct there. Also I do believe pre covid Norwegian wanted to do this flight.

[@83hjf]

Aerolineas Argentinas operated a daily flight to Sydney from 1980 to 2014, and lost it for stupid political reasons of aerolineas being a state owned company of a corrupt country. With newer planes they could have probably reached Perth as well...

[@macjc5]

Covid will not be over for AUSSIES until you OVERTHROW your GESTAPO GOVERNMENT

[@kayleighlehrman9566]

Glad to see Sam from Wendover is here to explain ETOPs to us again!

[@Gameboob]

It's also hard to fly over Antarctica. In a video on the sightseeing plane crash in Antarctica in the 70s, they discussed how hard it is to see and judge your whereabouts on a sunny day with all the bright white snow and lack of anything not white.

[@NikosPer]

its 2022 dude...

[@fsinjin60]

@@NikosPer Pilots like to feel they are in control even when the airplane is flying by listening to transponders. The pilots like to see landmarks to assure the plane is on the right course. But do you mean a crash in the 1970s does not inform why people do things today? Why do cars have seatbelts in 2022?

[@NikosPer]

@@fsinjin60 the progress that has been made since 70s - especially in these sections of aviation/aeronautics and geolocation is immense. There is no excuse.

[@fsinjin60]

@@NikosPer why do cars have seatbelts. Planes do fly over the pole but pilots do not like it for the monotony. Planes are boring enough to sit behind the wheel while in the air, without having nothing to focus on.

[@chickenfriedlasagna4597]

Yet people fly at night everyday... They can't see.

[@dmdeemer]

74 Gear is raising $ to charter a flight from Buenos Aires to Perth, specifically for flat earthers.

[@tristen8089]

There could also be the problem of plane icing. Usually planes that fly over cold icy climates need de-icer put on them to avoid freezing.

[@Arcadiez]

last year there were also 2 flights to the south pole, one by Hi-fly and one by Islandic air. Landing on an ice runway. Kinda cool ( a340 and a b757 )

[@Arcadiez]

And add to the a 737max by smartwings

[@Sembazuru]

Not to the South Pole. The runway there is compacted snow so only ski equipped planes can land. Regular wheeled landing gear will bury itself basically making the landing a controlled crash, ruining the only runway there preventing the normal planes from landing to be able to airlift any survivors out. You are probably thinking of those planes landing at McMurdo on either the seasonal ice runway or Phoenix field. McMurdo is on Ross Island off the coast of the continent, and those runways are on the Ross Ice Shelf between Ross Island and the continent and serve both the US run McMurdo base and the NZ run Scott Base (both on Ross Island).

[@user-fs3dg1po2z]

@@Sembazuru Don't forget Wilkins Aerodrome. Australia flies an A319 in there, and occasionally a C17

[@Sembazuru]

@@user-fs3dg1po2z I had forgotten about Wilkins, not having any practical experience with it. But it is actually further north of any of the runways that service McMurdo or Scot bases making it even further from the South Pole. Thanx for the reminder of other airbase on Antarctica. I also neglected to mention any of the runways near the peninsula, because none of them are on the primary route to the South Pole. (I do recall the occasional flight landing at 'Pole from Patriot Hills, but I think those were either Twin Otters or Baslers. Not the LC-130s that carried the bulk of PAX and supplies for the 'Pole stattion.) I guess, my poorly articulated point is just because someone is going to Antarctica doesn't mean they are going to the South Pole. Antarctica is a big continent with lots of different destinations to go to. Just like going to Australia doesn't mean that you are obviously going to Alice Springs.

[@carrizoralph4500]

Cold has nothing to do with it. Average temperature at 40,000 ft is -70 Fahrenheit.

[@nathangeesey5721]

The m with monitor your fuel temperature. Just a question, when you’re 40,000 feet in the air temperature is approximately-80 degrees roughly. I know this because it said it on the monitor flying over the alps. So that would essentially gel fuel. Why is it mentioned that it requires special monitoring at 32 degrees if at 40,000 feet it’s at -80? Something seems off on this one. Thanks

[@thehaprust6312]

Yeah, the ETOPS 60 map is way too generous. When I was a kid we used to fly from Washington, DC to San Juan, PR to visit family. We always got to fly on widebody trijets (L-1011's and DC-10's) because the direct route passed over a couple of gaps in ETOPS range. As kids, we used to bounce around in those planes like ping-pong balls, they were so under capacity. Because of those trips, I also passed through the Bermuda Triangle several times before learning that it was something I shouldn't believe in anyway, so that was neat too.

[@83hjf]

maybe since you were a kid they made new airports?

[@thehaprust6312]

​@@83hjf Even if that were the case (and it isn't), we would still be discussing the historical ETOPS 60 map.

[@larsrons7937]

Interesting video. In 1986 my friend flew from South Australia to Rio de Janeiro and back taking them over the South Pole (or at least the captain said so). But that was long before 2001.

[@XPLAlN]

Assuming that was a scheduled flight (ie, not a specialised charter) I would think they flew over the magnetic pole, which back then was close to the edge of the continental land. It was also an alternative point of interest on the Antarctic sight seeing trips that went down to Scott Base (like most of the bases, also on the ‘coast’).

[@Irreverent_Radiation]

Finally, a video that I can send to the people that go "Antartica is a secret base and it's forbidden to fly over it."

[@VitaeLibra]

Or just send them a video of people getting special flights or tours across it

[@technewseveryweek8332]

There is a company that offers flights from Capetown, South Africa to Wolfsfang camp, Antartica. From the camp they offer a flight to the South Pole

[@samueldamuel1689]

A reason not mentioned is the penguins filing too many noise complaints

[@thugson1166]

From Perth we have 1 long distance direct flight, which was from London but is now to Amsterdam (I think), every other flight funnels through one of our other major cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane) or through Hong Kong/Singapore/Thailand (may be more countries but these are the most common lay overs) With a state population of >3million spread over the size of 3 UK's, and separated from the rest of Australia by thousands of KM's of dessert, the "there isn't much demand" comment is exactly correct

[@user-fs3dg1po2z]

3 UKs? Don't undersell the size of your gargantuan state. Its more like 10 UKs.

[@mehere8038]

@@user-fs3dg1po2z 3 million are probably spread over 3 UK's though. They have a single electorate in that state that covers an area bigger than France, Germany, Spain & a tonne of others combined cause of how space the population is in that region

[@titoluco]

Santiago de Chile is the only city in latinamerica with non stop flights to Australia and New Zealand, and you didn’t even mentioned it.

[@Skywatchers]

Next week I’m getting 4hrs of video footage of Antarctica. This person was one of only a handful of people that stayed in Antarctica through the winters.

[@veggiet2009]

The obvious solution to this very in demand problem is to build a large international airport right on the south pole itself, which would enable planes to cover 100% without worrying about dark matter

[@richardarriaga6271]

Would it wake an Elder God, tho?

[@user-nj2sz3wq2i]

because earth is flat. You cant flight antartica. Dave Murphy. kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipXSeIebgpWepbM

[@cezarcatalin1406]

@@richardarriaga6271 Humanity has to try some of that eldergussy eventually.

[@Been.Here.Since.2007]

Base 211

[@momentary_]

The obvious solution is to ignore Antarctica as there are no commercial routes that save time by going over it.

[@CarthagoMike]

great concept, but the 2001-tape part should have been in 4:3 for true immersion :)

[@JohanMsWorld]

The main reason I see is that there are very few routes with enough traffic density to fly direct routes with all those restrictions in mind. Plus that there is a lot of harsch conditions even in the southermost South America. We all known about the storms at Cape Horn for example. Plus that the roaring fourties and screaming 50ties are well known for theyre storms and winds. So I can imagine a lot of turbulence and jet streams even at high altitude. But we can fly if we want to. Afterall there are regular suply flights to the Antarctica science stations. J.

[@nelliesmith5699]

I’m going to go on one of the day sightseeing flights to Antartica. Pretty excited😁

[@saneerasmus]

all i could think throughout this entire video is how terrified i would be of flying over the ocean. I've only taken domestic flights, which all go over land for the vast majority of the route -- flights leaving Cape Town, South Africa often take a little turn over the ocean to go inland, and that part is consistently the scariest part for me.

[@randybaumery5090]

Inner cities are more scary.

[@kimmykimko]

I'm more terrified of brain dead idiots and cowards.

[@kaliland9296]

I’ve flown from New York to Hong Kong, how did I not pay attention the the fact I was flying over the North Pole 🤦🏽‍♀️

[@Schindlabua]

The north pole doesn't exist! Earth is a cylinder.

[@mehere8038]

Ok, so with those times max to airports, does that apply to charter flights too? I'm wondering how all the celebrities travel between LA & Sydney/Auckland if it does, cause those would be little 2 engine planes & there's no-where to land between the 2 locations (other than Hawaii & the South Pacific Islands closer to Aus/NZ, but those aren't going to meet the time criteria I don't think) Planes like the one that carried Johnny Depp & his dogs, but there's HEAPS of little planes that fly that route

[@UdahamulleNdarathanaHimi]

"Give up & fly to Cancun"👍

[@desboot9128]

I thought it was because they might hit the super tall penguins

[@ChronicSkater]

The "I hit a flock of penguins" excuse seems a little fishy during the FAA debriefing

[@BlackieNuff]

Here I thought it would have something to do with all the world's time zones converging at the pole itself. Never occurred to me about the extreme cold, the isolation and barren wasteland that the continent is, the magnetic properties, etc.

[@sergiomarioherreros4830]

In the 70s there was a route Buenos Aires - Sidney flying over Antarctica. It was called "Ruta transpolar" and was operated by Aerolínias Argentinas.

[@Nehner]

Nonstop? Never! Over antarctica? maybe crossing some miles?

[@sergiomarioherreros4830]

@@Nehner I don't know exactly the route. But it was many publicity by that time. I don't think it lasted long. May be there is some info in the web.

[@Nehner]

@@sergiomarioherreros4830 this was never be a nonstop flight.

[@sergiomarioherreros4830]

@@Nehner thera are not many places to stop. They called it "transpolar", that is " over the pole", it was in the ads. I don't have more details.

[@Nehner]

@@sergiomarioherreros4830 normal planes this time mostly can distance 3000 to 5000 km only. 9000 km max was possible. But never with such economic unattractive flights.

[@tectorama]

One of the worlds busiest freight hubs in Anchorage in Alaska. It's in use 24/7 365 days of the year, and has never closed due to the weather.