Round-the-world Flight in Robinson R22 on Ice

The Canadian Coast Guard ship Pierre Radisson rescued Russian pilot Sergey Ananov from an ice flow yesterday morning, unharmed but without his Robinson R22 helicopter. Departing eastbound from Moscow on July 13, Ananov was attempting to be the first pilot to solo circumnavigate the globe in an R22.

He was forced to ditch on a 50-mile leg in the Davis Strait between Iqaluit, Nunavut in Canada and Nuuk, Greenland, near Baffin Island on July 25. Preliminary information suggests Ananov ditched after the helicopter’s transmission belt broke, but weather reports in the area Saturday indicated fog and ice. Ananov’s R22 was equipped with an auxiliary fuel tank in the copilot/passenger position, Spot satellite tracking and basic survival gear including flares. Ananov’s last Spot signal was received at 11:27 a.m. on July 25.