WASHINGTON, July 28 - RIA Novosti, Alexey Bogdanovsky. Russian helicopter pilot Sergei Ananov told RIA Novosti from aboard a Canadian rescue ship about how he spent two days on an ice floe in Davis Strait.
According to the traveler, he had to scream away polar bears, and rescuers noticed his torch at the last moment. Ananov said that he felt fine, except for dehydration and abrasions, and that he would soon travel to Ottawa and then to Russia.
The small helicopter-scooter Robinson 22, on which Ananov completed his round-the-world flight, crashed on Saturday in Davis Strait between the islands of Greenland and Baffin Island. The rescue operation took place with the help of two planes and a Canadian Air Force helicopter, and Ananov was found by Canadian Coast Guard sailors from the Pierre Radisson vessel, which was specially sent to search for the pilot.
"The aircraft sank in 30 seconds"
According to the pilot, the cause of the accident was purely technical.
“One of the two drive belts, which transmits power from the engine to the blade, broke. (The helicopter) began to behave completely uncontrollably, and in this uncontrolled flight I could only descend. I descended, I wanted to reach the ice floe, but I failed. I lost speed and fell somewhere 50-100 meters from the ice floe... It sank in literally 30 seconds,” Ananov said. According to him, he managed to get out of the car with difficulty and, diving into cold water, pull out the rescue raft, and the satellite communications equipment could not be saved.
Then Ananov had to swim to the ice floe and climb onto it. “I was scratched badly, of course, on the ice - I didn’t even think, to be honest, that I would climb it, it’s tall. The overalls were full of water. This overalls gave me hope for salvation,” Ananov explained.
"We managed to drive away three bears"
According to the traveler, during 48 hours on the ice floe he was constantly frozen and experienced severe dehydration. The pilot had some protein biscuits and water and also ate ice. "I was conscious all the time. The trembling was constant, I did not control my body, but I controlled my well-being. This allowed me to drive away three bears. The wind brought ice floes, and they formed such a continuous ice field, and the bears came along this field. Three bears visited me, they managed to drive them away,” Ananov said.
According to Ananov, in his position he could only scare away the bears by shouting. “I just had to suddenly jump out from under the raft and scare them to death with my screams. It worked in the first case, and I realized that I could scare them. They came within a meter of me, I could already see their noses, but approaching me, and at that moment he jumped out like a jack-in-the-box,” said the pilot.
"Rescuers noticed a burning torch"
Canadian rescuers had a fairly good idea of the search area, but the fog hampered the plane and helicopter pilots, he explained. “They were searching by plane at a high altitude, but there was fog, and absolutely nothing was visible. I understood that they were looking for me. On the second day, a helicopter was working, but there was fog again - the helicopter was working a few kilometers away from me, I used two torches, but everything was useless. I had the last torch left, and I told myself that I would use it at the very last moment,” Ananov said. According to him, he could survive for at most one more day.
“The north wind, in the evening of the second day, carried away this fog, and I saw some kind of fire. It turned out that it was a large rescue ship of a large type, which had been traveling to me for a whole day from Canada... They noticed the last seconds of the burning torch: a girl assistant noticed the burning torch. Then it was a matter of technology - they lifted the helicopter, and I was already on board,” Ananov said. He thanked his Moscow friends who raised the alarm about his disappearance, the Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian military.
"There was just a little bit left"
According to Ananov, immediately after evacuation from the ice floe he received high-quality medical care. “There is weakness, the skin is cracked here and there from being in overalls with sea water all the time, there are also abrasions from when I climbed onto the ice floe,” Ananov said. On Tuesday, the ship is scheduled to arrive in the village of Iqaluit, the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, from where the traveler intends to fly to Ottawa. “We are already in contact with the (Russian) consulate. They promised me all kinds of support for sending me home,” Ananov explained. According to him, he will have to restore documents; all things from the trip are also lost. He estimates the cost of the lost used helicopter at $100,000. However, the main disappointment for Ananov was that he would not be able to complete the record-breaking solo flight around the world in a light two-seater helicopter. Ananov had an accident after flying 34 thousand kilometers out of the planned 38 thousand - in a few days he planned to be in Moscow.
“We sing a song to the madness of the brave!”
There is nothing surprising in the fact that people go to the mountains, cross the oceans, conquer the poles, fly into space, and descend underground (or under water). Unfortunately, not all attempts to set records are successful. Trip around the world Solo R 22 on an ultra-light helicopter performed by our compatriot Sergei Ananov ended in an accident with the flooding of the helicopter and the happy rescue of the pilot, whom the whole world sympathized with. I don’t believe in omens, but the trip around the world started on July 13 at 13:00?..
Sergei Ananov evokes sincere sympathy and every respect, and, nevertheless, the conversation must be serious. We will begin with an attempt to divide what happened into the position of the performer and the position of the producer.
In the case of Solo R 22, according to Sergei, there was a “break” in one of the two propeller drive belts. This is not the first “breakdown”. Therefore, it is strange: “suddenly” it turned out that with one belt the helicopter was unable to continue horizontal flight. Can’t a helicopter like this fly over water?! Because in case of failure, after touching the water, it will inevitably turn over and sink within a few tens of seconds with all the ensuing consequences.
Performer position Solo reminds me of an acrobat under a circus big top, who, in front of numerous spectators, is preparing to make a record jump on two elastic bands. The audience held their breath. They don’t know that breaking any of the rubber bands can turn into a tragedy... Realization comes only after a terrible fall. By the way, the risk (probability) of breaking any of the two rubber bands is higher than one. The question arises: Why take risks? In order to prove that it is possible to travel around the world even on a regular production Robinson helicopter R 22 “not the first youth”...
Manufacturer's position R 22. Regarding Robinson Helicopter's position Company , a “break” of the belt and the inability of the helicopter to continue horizontal flight (for a successful completion) raises questions for the manufacturer. However, the manufacturer is silent, as if “he had taken too much water in his mouth.” The “American” operates on the principle “I am not me”: If everything ends well, then the record on our helicopter, if something happens, we have nothing to do with it. Strange position - isn't it? In my opinion, this is dishonest. When we were boys, they beat us in our yard for this...
But seriously, it's unfortunate Solo R 22 confirmed the existence of problems with a reliable assessment of the technical condition of used helicopters and their components. A “broken” belt, one way or another, requires study and subsequent informing of the helicopter public...
“The madness of the brave is the wisdom of life!”
The Canadian Coast Guard rescued Russian traveler Sergei Ananov, who crashed on a helicopter in Davis Strait between the islands of Greenland and Baffin Island. As The Telegraph reports, Ananov tried to become the first traveler to fly around the Arctic Circle in a small helicopter. After the crash, he managed to climb onto the ice floe, where he spent two days, screaming away the interested polar bears.
Ananov disappeared on Saturday, July 25. As a result of a large-scale search and rescue operation launched by the Canadians, the traveler was found on an ice floe - a distress signal was noticed from a nearby icebreaker.
The traveler told RIA Novosti from aboard the rescue ship what he had to endure for dozens of hours on the ice floe.
According to him, the cause of the accident was purely technical. One of the two drive belts that transmits power from the engine to the blade has broken. "(The helicopter) began to behave completely uncontrollably, and in this uncontrolled flight I could only descend. I descended, I wanted to reach the ice floe, but I failed. I lost momentum, fell somewhere 50-100 meters from the ice floe... It sank literally in 30 seconds,” Ananov told the agency. According to him, he managed with difficulty to get out of the car and, diving into cold water, pulled out the rescue raft, and the satellite communications equipment could not be saved.
Then Ananov had to swim to the ice floe and climb onto it. “I was scratched badly, of course, on the ice - I didn’t even think, to be honest, that I would climb it, it’s high. The overalls were full of water. This overalls gave me hope for salvation,” Ananov explained.
During his 48 hours on the ice, he was constantly cold and severely dehydrated. The pilot had some protein biscuits and water and also ate ice. “I was conscious the whole time. The trembling was constant, I did not control my body, but I controlled my well-being. This allowed me to drive away three bears. The wind brought ice floes, and they formed such a continuous ice field, and bears came across this field. Three bears visited me, I managed to drive them away,” Ananov said.
According to Ananov, in his position he could only scare away the bears by shouting. “I just had to suddenly jump out from under the raft and scare them to death with my screams. It worked the first time and I realized that I could scare them. They came within a meter of me, I could already see their noses approaching me, and at that moment I jumped out like a jack-in-the-box,” said the pilot.
Canadian rescuers had a fairly good idea of the search area, but the fog hampered the plane and helicopter pilots, he explained. “We searched by plane at high altitude, but there was fog and absolutely nothing was visible. I understood that they were looking for me. On the second day the helicopter was working, but there was fog again - the helicopter was working a few kilometers away from me, I used two torches, but it was all useless. I had the last torch left, and I told myself that I would use it at the very last moment,” Ananov said. According to him, he could survive for at most one more day.
In the evening of the second day, he saw a fire, which turned out to be a rescue ship that had been sailing from Canada for the whole day. They noticed the fire of a dying torch on it and immediately sent a helicopter.
After evacuation, he was provided with high-quality medical care. On Tuesday, July 28, the ship should arrive in the village of Iqaluit, the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, from where Ananov is going to fly to Ottawa, where employees of the Russian diplomatic mission are already waiting for him. The traveler will have to restore documents lost in the crash.
The pilot estimates the cost of the lost helicopter at $100,000, but his biggest regret is that he was unable to complete the record-breaking solo flight around the world in a light two-seater helicopter. The journey took him 40 days.
Illustration copyright Sergey Ananov Image caption Sergei Ananov was planning to fly around the world by helicopter
In July Russian traveler Sergei Ananov was forced to land his helicopter on an ice floe somewhere between Canada and Greenland. He told the BBC about two days of battling extremely low temperatures, extreme winds and uninvited guests.
I always felt free, relaxed and happy when I sat at the controls of a helicopter. And that's exactly how I felt shortly before 11:30 on July 25th.
I'm halfway through my six-hour flight from Iqaluit, Canada, to Nuuk, Greenland. I flew between thick fog and a bright canopy of clouds. I drove my Robinson R22 through this loose gray corridor, feeling my loneliness and listening to the hum of the engine. I was filled with happiness. Next to me in the passenger seat lay an additional tank of fuel, which I called Wilson. 460 meters below me lay the ice and cold waters of the Davis Strait.
Suddenly I felt a shaking in the tail and realized that I had lost half the power in the blades. The engine was running fine and I thought there might be a problem with the transmission. The speed dropped sharply, and it was bad. I didn't want to fall like a stone from the sky, so I tried to adjust the settings. It was necessary to accelerate, and this meant losing altitude. The helicopter shook and swayed anxiously from side to side. Within a few seconds it became clear that I would not be able to continue my flight.
Illustration copyright Sergei Ananov Image caption Robinson R22 helicopter weighs less than a tonIt was day 42 of my attempt to become the first person to fly solo around the world in a helicopter weighing less than one ton. A thousand thoughts flashed through my head at that moment. Among them was this: “Oh God, I flew 34 thousand miles, and I only have 4 thousand left before the world record in Moscow...”
And I thought, “Why did this happen to me here, and not over the swamps of Florida or the prairies of Canada, or even somewhere in Siberia where I could just land, take out my phone and ask for help?”
I switched the helicopter to autorotation mode - this is a safe mode that allows the machine to descend smoothly. Passing through the fog, which hung at an altitude of only 60 meters above sea level, I saw a tempting ice floe out of the corner of my eye. However, it was dangerous to continue flying even a few meters, so I lowered the car directly onto the water.
Illustration copyright Sergei Ananov Image caption “I didn’t want to fall like a stone from the sky,” says Sergei AnanovI do not agree with the word “crashed”, which journalists are so fond of. It wasn't a fall. It was a forced landing on water, and it was controlled and soft. I wasn't hurt at all.
The tail of the helicopter immediately sank. I knew that there was a danger that, due to my weight, the helicopter would be flooded on my side - on the starboard side. It could drag me under. So I moved to the left to redistribute the weight. The car lay on the left side, and the blades, which were still rotating, were breaking before our eyes.
I unfastened my seat belt and opened the door. Instantly I found myself up to my neck in icy water. I was wearing a special survival suit, but it was only buttoned to the waist. The top part was undone because I find it almost impossible to fly with that suit constricting your arms and upper body. At that moment there was so much adrenaline in me that I did not feel cold at all. I emerged from the helicopter. And then he returned for the life raft, which was stored under my seat.
Whenever I mentally rehearsed landing on the water, I programmed my brain to think that the life raft would be the most important thing for me. In the end, he did save my life, but not at all in the way I imagined.
Illustration copyright Sergei Ananov Image caption Route of Sergei AnanovIt turned out that I landed the car only 50 meters from the ice floe, which I noticed while still in the air. And it was better than any inflatable raft. I swam over and climbed onto it. It was about 15-20 meters in diameter and could very well be my home for a while. At that moment the helicopter disappeared from sight. In about 30 seconds, he plunged into the dark blue waters of the strait.
Then I took off my special suit. Finding myself in only my underwear, I was shaking from the cold in the biting wind. I tried to pour and squeeze as much water out of the suit as possible. Then I put it back on. It was still damp and bitterly cold.
The piercing wind was literally killing me. Then I lay down on the ice floe and covered myself with a raft. It was yellow and square. I tied one part of the raft to my leg and held the other with my hand. And that's when I started beating myself up. I traveled with two trackers, a beacon and a satellite phone. But all this went under water along with the helicopter.
I thought I'd dive after them. Of course, it will be unpleasant, but still. I was sure that the alarm would be raised in any case. I knew that several of my friends were closely watching my movements. They should notice that the tracker and helicopter are frozen in place.
Illustration copyright Getty Image caption Ice floes in Disko BayBut I also realized that the last position the tracker recorded might be some distance from the actual landing site. And my friends won't be able to figure out if I'm alive.
I had about a half liter of bottled water and some protein bars for about 2000 calories. I also had three flares that were packed inside the life raft.
I stood up and tried to move around a little to keep my blood flowing. But even simple moves were given with great difficulty. The entire time I spent on the ice floe, I never stopped shaking from the cold.
I wasn't particularly worried about the prospect of meeting a polar bear. My ice floe was drifting on the open sea. There were only a few more ice floes nearby, and so - water, water, water. And wind.
About four hours after my emergency landing, I heard heavy breathing and crunching snow near me. At that moment I was lying on my stomach in my makeshift tent and trying to stay warm. I looked out from under the raft and saw it - a polar bear. He stood on the ice floe, sniffed the air and slowly walked towards me.
Illustration copyright Getty Image caption Polar bear - dangerous predatorI had to make a decision instantly. And I decided to surprise him no less than he surprised me. I jumped up and threw away the life raft. "Boo!" With this cry, I rushed at the bear, throwing up my arms. I continued to growl and scream, feigning anger.
And I was really angry - at myself, at this whole situation and at the bear that somehow found me on that ice floe. How dare he come here and try to eat me? It probably looked funny and similar to how parents scare their children. But it worked!
The bear turned around and ran away. “Great,” I thought. “Now he knows who’s in charge.” And we need to play on this." So I chased the bear.
We reached the edge of my ice floe, and the bear easily jumped to the other. And I couldn't do it, so I stayed on the edge, waving my arms, with my eyes bulging, and constantly screaming at him.
Then I noticed that the sea around me had completely changed, that everything was mixed up due to the strong wind. The ice floe has ceased to be an island that floats on its own. She was surrounded by other ice floes. And now I was threatened by bears.
The polar bear ran another 25 meters. Then he simply sat down on the ice and turned his head in my direction, like a dog. He wanted to know what I would do next. At this point I would like to know this too.
Illustration copyright Arturo de Frias Marques Image caption Polar bears hunt seals at the ice edgeWhat could I do? I couldn't just turn around and head back to my raft. So I continued to stand there and scream at the bear to make it clear that he had no place on my island.
This lasted about a minute - he sat and looked at me, and I continued to yell at him. Then he stood up and began to slowly walk away into the distance. Every few seconds he looked around to see what I was doing. Only after he had moved about 100 meters away, when we could hardly see each other due to the thick fog, did I allow myself to sit down.
“Oh God!”, I thought. "It wasn't easy. Will he come back? Most likely, yes. Because he knows that there is food for him here, so he will just make a big circle, smell me again and come back."
After that, I continued to sit, looking for polar bears on the gray-blue horizon.
Shortly after this, I heard the sound of an airplane engine somewhere nearby. I couldn't see the plane in the fog, but I grabbed one of my flares and pulled the trigger. It burned for about 30 seconds and fizzled out. The sound of the plane became quieter and quieter. The pilot obviously didn't notice me.
I had to admit that, given all the circumstances - the thick fog, the fact that the ice floe continued to drift away from where I had landed, the bitter cold and the polar bears - my chances of survival were slim.
Illustration copyright Getty Image caption The polar bear is not a territorial animal and prefers to avoid conflictsI divided my supply of protein bars and water into three parts, one for each day. I couldn’t even imagine that after three days I would still have enough strength to scare away polar bears.
I took comfort in knowing that my family would be okay. I will not leave my wife and already adult children without money.
But in case I manage to survive, I came up with a whole list of suggestions on how to improve the work of rescuers.
- People should be searched by helicopters, not airplanes
- Special suits must be made so that the pilot can fly in them
- Miniature radio beacons must be attached to special suits and life rafts
I didn't sleep that night. I closed my eyes, but did not sleep. I ordered myself not to sleep under any circumstances in order to notice the approaching polar bears. To my own surprise, I lived until morning.
Another plane flew overhead somewhere, I fired another flare, with the same result as the day before - it was all useless in the thick fog. I also heard a helicopter engine, but it was hanging in the air a couple of kilometers away from me - apparently, near the place where my helicopter sank.
This morning another polar bear came to me, and I drove it away in the same way as the first. He, too, first ran away, then sat down on the ice floe and looked at me for a long time, and then slowly left.
Illustration copyright Image caption Rescue vessel Pierre RadissonThis afternoon I had a strange idea. In one part of my ice floe, about half a meter from the edge, a large depression formed, filled with water from the melting ice. Unfortunately, it was impossible to drink it, as it turned out to be mixed with sea water.
But the sparkling ice walls of the depression gave the impression that it was filled with clear blue water, like the best Mediterranean pool. I was tired of lying on the ice, so I put my life raft on the water in this depression, lay down on it and covered myself with the raft's sea anchor (it's just a huge plastic bag). This made me feel warmer, and I could calmly consider my apparently inevitable fate.
I got up after about half an hour. Lounging on the raft, I looked most like a sunbathing seal - that is, easy prey for you know who.
And indeed, as soon as I returned to the ice and again made a kind of tent out of my raft, a third polar bear appeared nearby, and I had to scare it away in the same way as its two predecessors.
I know what you're thinking. Why am I sure that these were three different bears and not the same one? The fact that all three bears reacted to my actions in exactly the same way leads me to believe that they were three different animals. If it were the same bear, he would have taken into account his previous experience, and would have been less afraid of me, and more persistently tried to get closer.
By the end of the second day I was lucky. The fog cleared and I saw a bright beam of light about five kilometers away. Icebreaker! I couldn't see any lights on the port or starboard side, so I assumed it was heading towards me. The evening began, it became darker. And I launched my last flare.
Illustration copyright Fisheries and Oceans Canada Canadian Coast Guard Image caption Canadian rescue helicopter36 hours after my forced landing, I saw with my own eyes what I had been dreaming about all this time - a Canadian rescue helicopter flying in my direction. Soon I was on board the helicopter and tried to hug my rescuers, but they just said: “Calm down, calm down, buddy! We still have to get to the ship.”
They were very surprised that I was able to walk, express myself rationally, and did not need help at all.
I was told that their ship Pierre Radisson left the port in Iqaluit 30 hours ago and had been searching for me all this time. They had barely begun their search when the third mate spotted my flare a few seconds before it went out.
Everyone on board the Pierre Radisson was just happy because they are rescuers and they rarely manage to find anyone alive and well. I took a warm shower, after which I was led to the officers' mess and seated at a large round table.
It was already after midnight, but dozens of people watched me eat my first dinner. They brought me a whole plate of delicious salmon, which the cook personally smoked on board the ship, and a salad with olive oil. It was incredible. There was a lot more on the table, but that first evening I couldn't eat much. Vodka also had to wait its turn until the next evening, when we were already approaching Iqaluit.
Illustration copyright Fisheries and Oceans Canada Canadian Coast Guard Image caption Sergei Ananov after his rescueThe hopes of everyone who prayed for my salvation were fulfilled - my relatives and friends, people I met during my travels, and even people I did not know - local residents, Inuit, people around the world who heard what was wrong with me something happened.
I want to thank everyone who prayed for my rescue and all the rescuers - the Canadian Military and Civilian Coast Guard. Nobody regretted anything. No one scolded me for the fact that they had to drop everything and save me. Before I flew to Russia, they even gave me a polar bear - albeit a teddy one.
I was not able to fly around the globe in a helicopter, but I saw with my own eyes how tiny our world is and how much we have in common. People in the USA, in Canada and everywhere have been very friendly to me. I no longer felt like a citizen of Russia, but felt like a citizen of the world.
Everyone asks me the same question - will I do it again? There are many competitions and many records in the world. The International Air Sports Federation in Lausanne is already 109 years old. Just think! All these years, from the very beginnings of aviation, she has been collecting information about records. Before me, only two people had managed to fly around the world in a helicopter, but their cars were larger than mine, and they were supported by entire teams.
And I almost succeeded. I covered 85% of the distance. 42 out of 50 days, 33 thousand kilometers out of 38 thousand.
I don’t yet know how I will be able to ask permission from my family and loved ones to try again. I have to be on my knees to ask their forgiveness for what they had to go through because of me, when for two days they did not know what happened to me.
And just like that, on my knees, I will beg them to let me do it again. And again, and again!
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