At next week’s meeting of the Arctic Council, the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment will be released, detailing the study’s findings. The Arctic council, which is comprised of representatives from the Arctic nations, will be meeting in Tromso, Norway to discus the Arctic situation. more »

Pilots of a small Canadian charter plane were forced to make an emergency landing with the plane’s doors wide open after a passenger fought off the crew to jump to his death at 23,000 feet over northern Canada, police told reporters Thursday.

Staff Sgt. Harold Trupish of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the man jumped Wednesday night from the Adlair Aviation plane, which had two pilots and two passengers on board was on route from Yellowknife to Cambridge Bay, a small town located in western Nunavut.

The man, whose name has not yet been released, jumped from the Beechcraft King Air 200 twin-turboprop plane when they were about 110 miles (180 kilometers) from Cambridge Bay. He was 20 years old.

The pilots noticed the man becoming unsettled, called it in and tried to reason with him and calm him down before having to struggle with him to try to stop him from opening the doors of the plane Trupish said.

“The plane came in with the door open,” he said. “Somehow they were able to control the aircraft to land. The three other people are all OK.”

The pilots were praised by Paul Laserich, general manager of Adlair Aviation, a small family-owned airline in operation more than 25 years in the Canadian north. He said the pilots did an amazing job getting the remaining passenger and the plane they were flying safely down to the ground. Laserich said it would have been extremely difficult to do so with frigid Arctic air roaring into the cabin through the opening.

“They brought the ship safely back. Everybody is OK. They are a little shaken up. They are OK. That is what is most important,” Laserich said.

The pilots, still shaken up from the experience, were not available for comment.

John Huston, a Glen Ellyn native and Chicago resident and his friend, Tyler Fish of Minnesota are poised to make a a 475-mile journey made by only 22 other explorers. The two are setting out this week on a “no resupplying” expedition to the North Pole.

Researchers will be paying close attention to their mind-sets amid the ordeals of the Arctic journey because like astronauts, Huston and Fish will have only the frozen or preprocessed food they take with them. However, unlike astronauts they will be slowed down by pulling the supplies behind them. Both John and Tyler will be pulling a 260 pound sled.

Huston and Fish will be spending long periods in confined spaces and will be, at times, in an area where rescue will be difficult or impossible. Each will complete questionnaires at the end of each day for Gloria Leon, a University of Minnesota psychology professor emeritus. Leon is studying the stresses and the positive outlooks that make certain types of people excel in cold, forbidding realms. more »

As the world rang in 2009 with fireworks, music ands champagne, residents of Alaska may have been holding back just a bit in anticipation of the state’s upcoming birthday party.  After all, 50 is a landmark birthday to celebrate, and Alaskans plan to do it in style.  And, to the envy of probably every five year old out there, Alaska’s 50^th birthday will be celebrated all year long. more »

With Christmas mere hours away, Santa’s elves have put things into high gear getting the toys and reindeer ready for the big guy’s all important trip.  Things are pretty hectic year round at the North Pole, but December 22^nd to 24^th are the busiest days of the year for the helpers at Santa’s main headquarters. more »

Oliver Edwards-Neil, 25, and Troels Hansen, 45, were flying over the Arctic in a Cessna Skymaster when the worst thing that could happened did: first one engine failed, then the other. Mr. Edwards-Neil immediately issued a mayday call and then began searching for a safe place to touch down. He managed to land the plane on ice seven kilometres off of the southern coast of Baffin Island. Just when the pilots thought that they were safe, the plane crashed through the ice that had become weakened all over the ice shelf. The plane, along with their life raft and gear, quickly sunk and the two barely had any time to escape. more »