Arrested Pilot Influencer Still Stuck in Antarctica After Trespassing

American teen’s lawyers and prosecutors have made an agreement to drop charges.

Caleb Revill

Wednesday, August 13, 2025 at 07:00 AM ET

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Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

Cessna 172 [FLYING Archive]

Key Takeaways:

U.S. pilot Ethan Guo was detained in Antarctica by Chilean authorities for over a month after allegedly altering his approved flight plans to land on King George Island during a round-the-world fundraising flight.
Although the court restricted him only from leaving Chile, dangerous weather and his plane's condition prevented his return from the Antarctic military base where he was stranded.
Charges against Guo were dropped following an agreement that requires him to donate $30,000 to a children's cancer foundation, leave Chile once safe, and accept a three-year ban from reentering Chilean territory.

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Over a month after his arrest, 19-year-old U.S. pilot and social media influencer Ethan Guo is still being detained in Antarctica by Chilean authorities.

Guo was arrested after landing on the Chilean Antarctic territory of King George Island on June 29. The government’s prosecutors allege he altered his previously approved flight plans and strayed off course toward Antarctica following his takeoff from Carlos Ibanez del Campo Airport (SCCI) in Punta Arenas, Chile, that day.