When Ethan Guo embarked on a mission to become the first person to fly solo to all seven continents, there was no telling how his journey would unfold.
Packing a survival kit, a satellite phone, and five changes of clothes into his 50-year-old Cessna 182, he set out from Memphis, Tennessee, on May 31, 2024.
His 1.4 million-strong audience on Instagram watched as the young pilot darted between dozens of countries around the world, all to raise money for childhood cancer research.
That was, until his social media profile suddenly went dark.
Engine troubles and a mayday call
The initial plan was to set a record as the youngest person to ever fly around the world.
Mr Guo said he began preparing at just 13 years of age, by homeschooling and graduating early.
He later added the goal of raising $US1 million for St Jude Children's Research Hospital, which researches prevention, treatment, and cures for childhood cancers.
"Unfortunately, while preparing, my cousin was diagnosed with stage 4 blood cancer," he said in a video posted to his Instagram.
"Wanting to help, I shifted this mission to something more important."
At 17, he was ready to take off.
But within an hour of his first leg — from Massachusetts to Tennessee — Mr Guo encountered engine troubles that would sideline him for more than 70 days, ultimately dashing his chance at the record.
"Unfortunately, the record is lost, but the original mission to fight cancer isn't," he said, hinting at a new, bigger plan.
That plan, he later revealed, was to become the first person to fly to all seven continents solo, which kicked off in May 2024.
Notching several stops in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East with relative ease, it wasn't until leaving India that his first run-in with a government occurred.
He was attempting to fly to Thailand during September — the tail end of India's monsoon season — when he encountered a storm that blocked his route, forcing a northern detour.
"As I kept on flying, the storm got so bad that the plane started leaking," he said.
"With a plane full of fuel that could explode from any spark, I had to do something."
Mr Guo declared an emergency and landed in Myanmar, in the throes of a civil war that has seen more than 82,000 people killed.
"It wasn't ideal since I had no paperwork, and the country was in conflict, but I figured I was safer on the ground. I thought I was toast," the pilot wrote on social media.
He claims to have been interrogated for "a few hours" before spending the night in a detention room.
"By morning, they told me to leave as soon as possible," he wrote.
Next stop: Antarctica?
After logging more than a year of travel, the icy shores of Antarctica were the last location he needed to tick off his checklist of continents.
Mr Guo took off from Punta Arenas, Chile, before sunrise on June 28, bound for Ushuaia in southern Argentina.
But the 19-year-old says a storm of factors forced him to make another emergency landing.
His navigation tools were malfunctioning, he'd lost communication with air traffic controllers on the ground, and ice was forming on his plane, he later said.
As Mr Guo began to lose airspeed, he set course for Antarctica — what he said was the closest place to land without traversing the worst of airspace above mountain ranges.
Now hundreds of kilometres off course, Mr Guo landed at Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin Airport on King George Island, a Chilean territory in Antarctica.
[LINK: Chile/Argentina/Antarctica map]There, he says he was met by "a bunch of dudes" in black suits.
It marked the beginning of a weeks-long confinement on a freezing, remote corner of the planet.
Stranded in a polar desert
Chilean officials alleged he had submitted a "false flight plan" that he never intended to take when he took off from Punta Arena, and that he had landed without permission, risking public safety.
They cited the fact Mr Guo had previously publicly stated his intention of flying to Antarctica.
Magallanes Regional prosecutor Cristián Crisosto said there were "at least six other airports" Mr Guo could have made emergency landings at prior to reaching King George Island.
He added that Mr Guo's 50-year-old Cessna 182 would never have received authorisation to fly to Antarctica "because it does not meet any requirements".
"The season for going to Antarctica for larger commercial aircraft is between October and February of each year," he told Chile's Tele13 Radio.
"And it's not because of comfort, it's because it's really dangerous to go at that time of year, right? At this time of year, in our winter, it's twice as dangerous.
"We're talking about one of the most extreme routes on the planet, where planes have to meet all the requirements, not only national ones, but also international aeronautical regulations.
"They also have to meet all the requirements of the Antarctic Treaty, so environmental requirements."
Mr Guo was charged on June 29 with violating two articles of the country's aeronautical code, including one that could lead to short-term imprisonment, and his plane was seized.
The young pilot rejected the accusations.
"I was like, 'I don't care what's going to happen.' Like, this is an emergency. I need to get down," he told The New York Times.
Nevertheless, he was confined in an outpost on the island as a judge spent weeks considering his case.
While he was not forced to stay there, only to remain in Chilean territory, there were no commercial flights available for him to take off the island due to the severe winter weather.
Through patchy Wi-fi, Mr Guo was eventually able to confirm to his followers he was okay.
"I'm alive everyone, I'll make an update soon," he wrote on X on July 3.
Charges dropped but still grounded
Weeks later, on August 11, a judge dropped the charges as part of an agreement with Mr Guo's lawyers and Chile's prosecutors.
Mr Guo would be required to give a $US30,000 ($46,000) donation to the Nuestros Hijos Foundation, a children's cancer foundation, within 30 days to avoid a trial.
He has already raised more than $US140,000 for nonprofit St Jude, according to his fundraising page.
The agreement also stated Mr Guo must leave the country as soon as conditions allow.
But one week on, the 19-year-old has remained in Antarctica.
It's part of a stand-off that hinges around how Mr Guo will leave the continent.
Mr Cisosto said Mr Guo is free to leave King George Island, but would need to do so without his plane — something the pilot refuses to do.
Mr Guo said he was talking with his lawyer to see if there was a way he could fly the plane out.
"I remain in Antarctica awaiting approval for my departure flight," he told the Associated Press.
"I sincerely hope they give it to me soon so that I and my plane can continue with my original mission."
The regional prosecutor said it would be "almost impossible" for Mr Guo to receive permission to fly off the continent.
"I think the most likely scenario, if that plane does leave, is that … they dismantle it," he said.
"They put it on a ship, and then in Chilean mainland territory, they can reassemble it if possible."
For each day the disagreement draws out, Mr Guo must pay the Chilean Air Force "a very high cost" per day for maintenance and storage of the plane.
Still, Mr Guo is not deterred from pushing for permission to fly his way off the continent.
"I'm fighting for my right to fly," he told the New York Times.
"I'm fighting for my right to continue this mission to raise $1 million. Nothing is concrete yet."
