MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA--An LC-130 Skibird from the New York Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing , like this one sitting on the ice runway near McMurdo Station Antarctica Nov. 9 2015 flew an emergency mission on Saturday, Feb 27, to carry 35 Australian researchers from their base 1,400 miles away across the continent, back to McMurdo. The Australians, who had been working at the Australian Antarctic Division's Davis Station, were supposed to leave on an Australian icebreaker, but the ship ran aground before it could get to them.