The weather conditions, with winds of up to 180 kilometers per hour that came from the front and forced the ship to make an unscheduled stopover in Río Gallegos to load fuel, they delayed the arrival to Ushuaia of the Air Force plane that was transporting the president Javier Milei. Which under normal circumstances takes a time of 3 hours and 30 minutes, It took the Embraer ERJ 140 LR T-96 aircraft 5 hours and 14 minutes the trip to the southern city.
Both the Ministry of Defense and the aeronautical authorities revealed to THE NATION what The stopover in Río Gallegos was “to refuel, given that headwinds produce greater consumption during the flight”, while the sources consulted tried to remove drama from the situation.
In the Air Force they indicated that “more than a delay, the stopover was a necessity to load fuel. But it is part of a totally normal procedure to continue flying safely to destination.”
The Embraer plane, incorporated into the Air Force last February, departed at 6:10 p.m. from the metropolitan airport and arrived at the Ushuaia international airport at 11:24 p.m.
A regular flight for the non-stop route lasts 3.30 hours, however weather conditions can change the duration: with a headwind it can be delayed 10 minutes and with a tailwind it can be brought forward up to 20 minutes, explained those who board this route weekly.
The president wanted to make a political gesture of support for the head of the United States Southern Command, General Laura Richardson, on her visit to the Ushuaia Naval Base, in clear alignment with the United States, in the face of the rapprochement of the previous Kirchnerist government and the current provincial leader, Gustavo Melella, to possible investments from China.
“They are airplanes with autonomy to make the Buenos Aires-Ushuaia route without stops,” aeronautical sources explained to THE NATION. However, the Air Force aircraft landed at 9:45 p.m. in Río Gallegos to refuel, a task that took him half an hour. Minutes after 10:20 p.m., the delegation headed by Milei and made up of 27 people resumed the trip to Ushuaia.
The flight arrived in the capital of Tierra del Fuego at 11:24 p.m., when the scheduled time was 9:30 p.m. According to reports, in several sections the plane would have flown below cruising speed.
Three options
Aeronautical sources consulted by this newspaper reported that there were three options for the President’s flight. to Ushuaia to meet with General Richardson.
They explained that the most convenient option was to fly to Ushuaia with an Air Force Boeing 737, but It was not possible because it was under inspection in Aerolíneas Argentinas workshops.
Another possibility would have been a Fokker F-28, but yes or yes it had to stop in Río Gallegos, which would have been ruled out from the outset. Finally, the Embraer ERJ 140 would have been chosen, which also had to make a stopover because it encountered headwinds of up to 180 kilometers per hour, which resulted in greater fuel consumption. “It was impossible to get directly to Ushuaia with those conditions, so he went down to refuel in Río Gallegos,” said the source consulted.
The aircraft Embraer ERJ 140 bears the name of “Paloma gaucha”, the nickname by which the Carola Lorenzini, pioneer of aviation in Argentina, who died in 1941. She was the first female aerial instructor in the Southern Cone.
The unit is a medium transport aircraft, with the capacity to carry up to 43 passengers, a maximum takeoff weight of 21,100 kg, a maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.78 and a range of more than 2,500 kilometers, the Air Force reported when it incorporated the plane.
It is equipped with two Rolls-Royce AE3007A 1/3 turbofan engines with a power of 7426 thrust (3400 kg) and latest generation technology.