‘I jumped out and lunged at the bear’
Russian pilot Sergey Ananov, 49, began his around-theworld journey on a Robinson R22 helicopter on June 13 in Moscow. But when a rubber belt connecting the engine to the rotor exploded, the helicopter descended into Arctic waters, leaving him stranded on an ice floe for 32 hours until the Canadian Coast Guard came to his rescue. From a satellite phone on the Pierre Radisson icebreaker, Ananov spoke to the Post’s Sadaf Ahsan.
Q What was “The Helicopter Solo Around the World Trip”?
A It was a sporty flight; I started from Moscow and planned to circumnavigate the world. I was very close, but this was unpredictable. When the belt broke, the machine lost 50 per cent of its power so that it couldn’t fly — it could only descend. The only thing I could grab was the life raft, and in 30 seconds, the helicopter sank. I put on a survival suit and climbed onto a block of ice with my suit full of water.
Q Did you ever feel like you may not survive?
A I was very afraid. I had two enemies: the cold and the wind.
I would start trembling; I couldn’t sustain the cold, and thought I wouldn’t last more than a few hours. I had to conserve my energy. And I only had three flares with me. The first plane I spotted, the flare was totally useless, because the fog was so thick. They couldn’t see me.
Q You encountered polar bears — how did you fend them off ?
A There was one polar bear on my first day, and there were two on my second day. I had to be unpredictable to scare them away, so I hid under the life raft. And when I heard breathing one metre away from me, I jumped out and lunged at the bear. He panicked and ran away. It was frightening for me, but I was very frightening for him — this unusual man in a red suit. Q What was the rescue like?
A As it got darker, it was easier to see the flares. The northern wind picked up and took off the fog. I saw lights, but I didn’t know where they were coming from. I shot my last flare and they saw it. I owe Capt. Julien and the entire crew my life. I feel welcome and healthy, besides a few frozen fingers.
Q Do you feel it’s fair that Canadians are paying for rescue efforts when you knowingly undertook a dangerous task?
A Yes. This is like any record-breaking major sports event — there is always a risk. I did everything according to plan. A search-and-rescue team would have been deployed no matter
what, whenever a pilot goes missing.
Q How prepared were you for something like this?
A This can’t be predicted, that’s why this trip was meant to be recordbreaking. My helicopter was a risk, it was very small and light, I called it an “aerial scooter.” Next time, I will be careful to have my satellite phone on me at all times.
Q Did you have food or water with you?
A I had melted ice to drink, and several protein snacks, about 2,000 calories of them, and I would eat them every hour and planned to spread them over three days. But all of my clothes, documents and money sank. What I wish I still had is my camera with records of all that I saw: deserts, canyons, swamps.
Q Do you plan to try again?
A This has been a good story and has taken a year’s worth of preparation and effort. So I will try again, I must continue, and I will start from the beginning because I must do the entire journey in one machine. It will be a challenge, especially for my wife and children, who were the first call I made. But I never begin something without finishing it, and I never travel the same way twice. I refuse to give up.