Balchen, Bernt, BAHL kuhn, burnt (1899-1973), was a Norwegian-American aviation pioneer. He flew across the Atlantic Ocean with Richard E. Byrd in 1927, and was the chief pilot on Byrd's first Antarctic expedition. He piloted the first airplane over the South Pole on Nov. 29, 1929. He first gained experience in Arctic flying by serving with Roald Amundsen.