Ushuaia. It was the first flight ever made over Tierra del Fuego; and Pluschow was deeply moved by the extraordinary beauty of the landscape seen from his airplane as well as the feat of a lifelong dream he had just accomplished. The flyer was greeted by the governor of Ushuaia, to whom he delivered the first sack of air mail in the region. The whole city celebrated and honored Pluschow the pilot. The next day, he started out on his return trip to Punta Arenas, but strong winds blocked his progress, the biplane ran out of fuel, and Pluschow had to make an unplanned stopover on the uninhabited island of Dawson. Luck was on side, though. After a day, he managed to locate an abandoned warehouse and enough fuel to finish his return trip to Punta Arenas where the population was beginning to worry about the delay.
For 3 years, Pluschow, enamored of the region, defied all types of dangers and challenges to fly over all the corners of Tierra del Fuego. He flew as far as the Cabo de Hornos and also over the Andean mountain range north of Lake Viedma. He also flew over the continental ice sheets and the Perito Moreno glacier. All the while, he filmed thousands of feet of film, taking hundreds of pictures and writing his articles for the Ullstein Publishing house. With time, an ongoing economic crisis in Germany took a heavy toll on his financial support., and Pluschow had to make great sacrifices as well as rely heavily on his legendary ingenuity to keep flying. He even went so far as to lay out a canvas sheet under the engine of his Heinkel. For lack of spare parts, he was not able to do the proper maintenance and the canvas was one way to insure his motor against loosing critical pieces. Other times, Pluschow´s neighbors would warn him of the local authorities that came to inspect the safety of his flying machine. He would then rapidly cruise over to another region from where he would continue flying.

On the 29 of January, while flying over Lago Rico near the Moreno glacier, Pluschow´s airplane, which had suffered some damages earlier as a result of an emergency aqua-landing, fractures a wing section and free-falls over the lake. Many of the locals watched aghast the plane’s fateful plunge and in which Pluschow and Dreblow died that day.
However, the memory of their deeds and courage would prove far more resilient than the aircraft they flew. It endures today, among Argentines and Chileans who remember them with much affection and gratitude. Pluschow was an aviation pioneer in one of the world’s most inhospitable regions the world can offer. Thanks to Plushcow, the Patagonia was able to begin developing air traffic, so necessary for overcoming the isolation, the vast distances, the problems with communications and transportation in Patagonia. Without daring and brave men like Pluschow, the Patagonia would still be a wind-blown, desolate region at the end of the world.

Pluschow´s extraordinary work, his resourcefulness, and, ultimately, the spirit of adventure with which he flew and took risks flying supplies, reconnoitering, making documentals and photographic records of the region, was an invaluable contribution. He exemplified most faithfully an ancient legacy of discovery and exploration that in his day was rapidly coming to a close. In a world where unknown lands are part of history only, and where technology and global sponsors count far more than personal initiative and imagination, Pluschow´s feats are still very much alive in Patagonia - where he is honored as one of their own.