In the November issue of EBAN, we

reported on pilot Jennifer Murray and

co-pilot Colin Bodill who were

attempting to fly from Pole to Pole

in a world record-breaking bid.

Sadly, the pair, who were travelling in

a Bell 407 helicopter, crashed in

Antarctica on December 20, onethird

of the way through their

expedition. Murray, 63, dislocated

her arm and also sustained broken

ribs. Bodill, 53, suffered a serious

back injury, fracturing one of his

Lumbar vertebrae.

They left New York on October 22

and had since flown down the east

coast of the United States, across the

Caribbean, central Brazil and down

the east coast of Argentina, to

Antarctica. They arrived at the South

Pole in time to celebrate the

centenary of the first flight by the

Wright Brothers on December 17,

which had long been a dream for

Murray since the early planning

stages of the mission.

Up until the crash, plans had been

going smoothly. On December 9,

Murray became the first pilot of a

single-engine helicopter to cross

the infamous Drake Passage, a 460

nm crossing of open waters between

the southernmost tip of South

America (Ushuaia, Argentina) and

north Antarctica.

On December 13, Murray had a

brief, but romantic reunion with

her husband Simon Murray, also 63.

He is currently trekking to the

South Geographic Pole with veteran

polar explorer Pen Hadow, 41.

Following the accident, Murray

insisted that her spouse continued

with his mission. The team also still

intend to submit a claim for the

speed record for flying from New York

to the South Pole in a helicopter.

After the helicopter came down,

it was Bodill who dramatically

rescued his flying partner. He pulled

her from the wrecked aircraft,

wrapped her in a sleeping bag,

erected a tent for shelter and lit a

stove for warmth before collapsing

from his own injuries.

Bad weather prevented the rescue

aircraft from landing for some time,

forcing the pair to endure

temperatures as low as -40C. The

rescue took around 17 hours in total,

which was about as quick as it was

physically possible to have been

done. Murray has since paid tribute

to the many rescue workers and

medical staff who transported them

safely to a hospital in Chile and took

care of them so well.

The Duchess of York, who is an old

friend of Murray’s, said: “I know this

won’t deter her from trying again and

it certainly won’t be her last

adventure – although both of them

will be more aware that nature always

has the last word.”

A message from Murray posted on

their website (www.polarfirst.com)

on January 7, highlighted her

continuing enthusiasm and dedication

to completing the challenge.

“Well, we are on the mend. Colin is

still in hospital recovering from a

successful operation and he can’t

wait to get back in the air – me too!

We are down, but not out.

“We want to finish what we set

out to do, to fly around the world

from Pole to Pole and continue

our work with the WWF and

other conservation organisations.

But we need a Bell helicopter! Can

anyone help?

“If we are going to go this year, we

need to be on our way within six

weeks in order to get the optimum

weather for the North Pole when

there is lots of ice and less fog.” She

concluded: “So keep watching, we

may be moving again soon!”