American influencer Ethan Guo’s Antarctica ordeal reportedly ends with $30,000 penalty

Young pilot Ethan Guo is free to go home after being detained in a Chilean base in Antarctica for flying a plane there without permission since June 2025. He is also expected to pay a $30,000 fine.

The 20-year-old influencer embarked on a journey in his Cessna 182Q to become the youngest person to fly solo to all continents. He hoped to use the expedition as a fundraiser for cancer research. After Guo landed in Chile, authorities alleged that the young pilot had provided them with “false flight plan data.”

Guo was allegedly only given permission to fly over Punta Arenas in the Southern part of the country, but had extended his journey south and headed for Antarctica. After he landed there on June 28, 2025, Guo was held in a military base while his lawyers negotiated for his release with the Chilean government.

The Tennessee native reportedly lived for two months in freezing temperatures and limited communication. He had hoped to raise $1 million for cancer research through the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. A Chilean court has ordered that the influencer pay the fine to a childhood cancer foundation within 30 days and leave the country immediately.

"The Chilean people have been incredibly hospitable, they've been fantastic people,” Ethan Guo says as he lands at Punta Arenas after release

The 20-year-old, having been released from detention, landed in Punta Areas via a navy ship. Ethan Guo was spotted wearing a Chilean football jersey as he talked about his experience in the country and described its residents as “fantastic people.”

"The Chilean people have been incredibly hospitable; they've been fantastic people. They've taken care of me. They've taught me Spanish, and they've treated me like family," he said.

Jaime Barrientos, Ethan Guo’s lawyer, told the press that his client made the emergency landing in Chile due to bad weather conditions, adding that Ethan Guo had in fact received authorization. He added:

"To his surprise, when he was about to take off back to Punta Arenas, he was arrested, in a process that from my perspective was a total exaggeration."

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