A U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster III aborted a routine resupply flight to Antarctica on Tuesday after New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) issued a NOTAM warning of potentially hazardous space activity. The flight, call sign ICE28, departed Christchurch International Airport at 9 a.m. local time but returned around 11:30 a.m. after the CAA received notification from Russia’s Air Traffic Management Corporation about a planned missile launch within New Zealand’s Oceanic Flight Information Region.
The CAA established a danger area and issued the NOTAM to alert aircraft operators, though it emphasized that the notice does not prohibit flights. The affected airspace spans roughly 30 million square kilometers over international waters in the South Pacific, Southern Ocean, and Tasman Sea, where authorities have limited control over activities. The C-17 was scheduled for a standard resupply mission, a common operation during this time of year.
The turnaround occurred during the U.S. Air Force’s annual Winter Fly-in (WinFly), a period dedicated to delivering teams and cargo to McMurdo Station and Scott Base ahead of the research season. While the PACAF spokesperson did not confirm if this flight was part of WinFly, the mission aligns with Operation Deep Freeze, which supports continuous scientific research in Antarctica.
