At 21:13 UTC on 9 December, contact was lost with a Chilean aircraft en route to Antarctica. The disappearance of the plane has instigated a multinational search of the area by sea, air and space.

The aircraft was a C-130 Hercules cargo plane belonging to the Chilean Air Force, and departed Punta Arenas on 9 December for the Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva base in the Antarctic. The aircraft was due to land at 21:17 UTC, carrying 38 people aboard; a mix of military and civilian personnel.

The last known location of the aircraft was over the Drake Passage, a body of water between Chile and the Antarctic South Shetland Islands. Search efforts are focused over this area, attemping to find any trace of the plane or passengers. On 11 December, the Chilean Air Force reported that they had found debris that may have come from the fuel tank of the plane, but further analysis would be required to verify whether this was from the missing aircraft.