Buzz
Helicopters serve countless purposes across the globe. From humanitarian missions to military operations, filmmaking, emergency medical services, news reporting, scientific exploration, photography, and tourism, they are everywhere. Often in the public eye, they are celebrated for their heroic rescues or, tragically, for their crashes. Here are 10 thrilling stories featuring helicopters—some inspiring, all courageous.
10. Russian Pilot Defends Against Polar Bears After Crash in the Arctic
In July 2015, Russian journalist and sociologist Sergey Ananov was flying around the Arctic Circle when his Robinson R22 helicopter suffered a gear failure mid-flight. His helicopter crashed into the icy waters near Greenland. Ananov managed to grab his life raft and some flares before the helicopter sank beneath the ice. He eventually found his way onto an ice floe to survive.
Stranded for 32 hours in the pouring rain, he defended himself from three curious polar bears, primarily by roaring and springing out from beneath his raft to scare them off. The thick fog also reduced his hopes of rescue. On the second day, after the fog lifted, he heard a helicopter approaching and barely managed to signal them with his final flare. He was rescued, unharmed, by the Canadian Coast Guard and now plans to try the journey again with a new helicopter.
9. Kris Kristofferson Shares A Demo With Johnny Cash
Before becoming a country music icon, Kris Kristofferson was an Army helicopter pilot, West Point instructor, and Rhodes Scholar with a master's degree in English literature. After leaving the military, he worked as a janitor at Columbia Records and as an oil field pilot, among other jobs. His ultimate goal, however, was to become a songwriter and to get his idol, Johnny Cash, to record one of his songs.
Previous efforts to show Johnny Cash demos of his music had ended with Cash angrily throwing the tapes into a lake. Kristofferson realized that a bolder approach was required. During a National Guard training flight, he made an unplanned stop at Cash's home and actually landed on the lawn. Although Cash wasn't there at the time, the plan succeeded. Later that year, Cash invited Kristofferson to perform with him at the Newport Folk Festival. Not long after, Kristofferson penned 'Sunday Morning Coming Down,' and the rest became legendary music history.
8. Homemade Helicopters: The Inspirational Journey
Vusimuzi Mbatha, a South African with no formal education beyond the seventh grade, had a vision one night that he was piloting a helicopter. Motivated by this dream, he began gathering scrap metal and discarded materials to create his own flying machine. Despite limited funds and facing mockery from others, Mbatha added unique touches, including a television, PlayStation controllers for steering, and a motorcycle battery for power. Neighbors, initially puzzled by his work, soon realized his plan when they heard the sounds of the engine and rotating blades.
After learning about Mbatha's project, the local company Bidvest Protea Coin was inspired to support him by sponsoring a 10-minute helicopter flight to give him a chance to see his community from the sky. They even gifted him a personalized flight suit and, impressed by his determination, offered him job opportunities to help him advance his aviation skills. Mbatha believes that with the right engine, his handcrafted helicopter will be ready for flight. He is patiently awaiting a safety inspection from aviation experts before attempting his first flight.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the world, Agustin, a man from Honduras, had started building his own homemade helicopter long before Mbatha was even born. Paralyzed from polio in his youth, Agustin had always dreamed of flying. His journey began in 1958 when he began collecting parts and scraps with the expectation of finishing his aircraft in a few months. However, it often took years to acquire each necessary component, allowing him to better understand the purpose of each part as he built his machine. In a particularly resourceful move, he even dismantled a new wheelchair given to him by relatives to use its parts for his aircraft.
Though many believe Agustin’s helicopter will never take flight, and despite the daily ridicule he faces from locals who witness his poverty and the unfulfilled promise of his project, he has steadily added parts to his creation for over five decades. Undeterred, he remains hopeful that one day he will prove his critics wrong. Perhaps, one day, he might even get the chance to take a ride in a helicopter alongside Vusimuzi Mbatha.
7. The Great Prison Escape via Helicopter
France holds the record for the most helicopter-assisted prison escapes, and the honor of holding the world record for the highest number of escapes by helicopter goes to Frenchman Pascal Payet. While Payet himself only made two successful escapes—matching other prisoners—he stands out for organizing a third helicopter break. Convicted of armed robbery and murder in 1999, Payet was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but after his audacious escapes, he found himself serving an additional 18 years. Another 15 years were tacked onto his sentence for crimes committed during his final escape attempt.
Payet’s first escape occurred two years after his conviction for a failed armored vehicle robbery that resulted in the driver’s death. A stolen helicopter swooped in to rescue Payet and an accomplice, allowing him to remain free for two years. However, in 2003, he was captured shortly after organizing a second escape involving three other inmates, all of whom were soon apprehended. Following this incident, Payet was moved between different prisons every few months to thwart any future escape attempts.
In July 2007, three masked men seized a helicopter at an airport in Cannes and instructed the pilot to fly to the rooftop of Grasse Prison. Once there, they stormed the facility, located Payet, and fled within five minutes, leaving the pilot unharmed after landing. This dramatic escape took place on Bastille Day, a day commemorating the storming of the infamous prison during the French Revolution. Payet was later captured in Spain three months after the escape and sentenced to an additional five years. Known as the 'King of Escapes,' he is one of France's most highly secured prisoners.
34 Cubans Escape Using a Stolen Helicopter
In early January 1992, shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cubana Airlines organized a standard sightseeing flight to Varadero Beach, a popular tourist spot. The aircraft used was a Soviet-made MI-8 helicopter, which had been converted for civilian purposes despite being 25 years old. The pilot, German Pompa, was a young Cuban Air Force lieutenant who was only slightly older than the helicopter he piloted.
On a cold winter day, Pompa made the decision to allow his copilot and navigator to rest while he dressed up a relative and a friend in extra uniforms he had. He managed to sneak them past security at Varadero Airport, and soon after, Pompa and his two companions boarded the helicopter. They flew to a nearby field to pick up 31 other friends and family members. Despite the helicopter only having seats for 21 passengers, they flew just 9 meters (30 feet) above the water between Cuba and Miami to avoid being detected by Cuban radar. U.S. radar, however, spotted them near the Florida Keys and quickly scrambled jets to intercept. Seeing joyful faces and waving hands through the windows, the Americans realized they were witnessing a mass exodus rather than a criminal or military operation, and they escorted the helicopter to Key West Naval Station.
Upon landing, the passengers kissed the ground and sought political asylum. As refugees from a Communist regime, they were granted special status and released to U.S. relatives after spending a weekend in immigration detention. According to an agreement between the U.S. and Cuba regarding air hijacking, Cuban officials sent a team to retrieve the stolen helicopter and return it to Cuba.
5. A Pilot Trainee with a Grudge Shows Off His Skills
When individuals like Doug Hughes, who managed to gate-crash the White House, make headlines, many are shocked that security was not up to the task or that these people were able to bypass what is assumed to be some of the tightest security measures in the world. However, the White House has a long history of fence-jumpers dating back to the 1840s.
During President Nixon's time in office, a disgruntled Army private named Robert K. Preston stole a UH-1 Iroquois helicopter (commonly known as the 'Huey') and flew it around Washington, causing alarm among drivers on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. He eventually landed it on the White House lawn, near the West Wing. In an astonishing turn of events, the Secret Service refrained from firing at him, allowing Preston to take off again and lead a chase with two police helicopters. He even managed to down one of them before being injured by gunfire and landing once more on the White House lawn. For his actions, he served only two months out of a six-month sentence and was discharged for 'unsuitability.'
Preston later explained that his actions were driven by the 'unjust' extension of his service after failing out of helicopter flight school. However, Maryland authorities commented that despite his shortcomings, he was still 'one hell of a pilot.'
4. Helicopter Sniper Assistance
In 1988, Charles Leaf II, a sporadic construction worker with a history of substance abuse and violent tendencies, kidnapped his three-year-old son, Charles Leaf III, and his former partner, Cheryl Hart, holding them hostage for 10 days. Previously, he had been arrested for kidnapping his family, accused of raping his ex-wife, and had only recently been freed from prison.
A week after fleeing with Cheryl and Charles III, FBI agents located them in a farmhouse. After a tense day of negotiations, Leaf demanded a helicopter to transport his family to a secluded area in the mountains. The FBI agreed to offer him the helicopter that had previously carried agents to the site, intending to use sharpshooters to take him down when he appeared.
Tragically, when Leaf stepped out of the house, the snipers were unable to take a clear shot because he had his young son strapped to his back, their heads pressed together. As the pilot saw Leaf approaching with his wife held at gunpoint as a human shield, he determined that there was no chance they would allow them to board the helicopter. In a split second, he used the rotor wash to send all three of them crashing to the ground. Almost instantly, Charles Leaf II was shot in the head.
3. Father Steals A Chinook To Rescue His Family
In 1975, as Saigon fell and the North Vietnamese forces advanced, 35-year-old Ba Van Nguyen, a South Vietnamese Air Force major, transitioned from a military leader to a desperate man intent on saving his family. If they remained in the city, they faced certain death or forced labor in the camps.
Nguyen picked up his family in a field just across from his parents' house, flying off in a stolen Chinook that was riddled with bullet holes and dangerously low on fuel. After a brief stop to refuel and grab supplies, he and his 11 passengers set off toward the South China Sea. With no prior experience flying over open water and uncertain about finding a safe landing spot, he felt immense relief when he spotted the USS Kirk. The ship was too small to accommodate the bulky helicopter, but Nguyen persuaded the captain to let him hover over the deck so his family could jump to safety. This required him to maintain a delicate hover, avoiding any chance that the rotor blades would clip the ship’s stern and unleash deadly shrapnel in all directions.
Once all passengers had jumped to safety and been caught by Kirk crew members below, Nguyen retreated into open water. After ensuring a safe distance, he shed his flight suit while keeping the helicopter steady in its hover and jumped out, ditching the chopper into the sea. After a tense moment where red liquid spread through the water where he had vanished, he finally surfaced to be greeted by cheers. The red fluid turned out to be hydraulic oil. Several crew members immediately leaped into the water, and a rescue boat was quickly launched to retrieve the pilot.
Nearly 35 years later, the captain of the USS Kirk managed to track down Nguyen after making an appeal on a Vietnamese-language television program. The reunion happened the following year when Nguyen, his family, and the Kirk crew gathered together. Nguyen was awarded an Air Medal for his bravery in the air. Despite being debilitated by Alzheimer's and dementia, leaving him unable to walk or speak, he managed to rise to his feet and salute the men who had 'helped save his family.'
A documentary titled Last Days in Vietnam, recently aired on PBS, tells the gripping story of Nguyen’s escape and the heroic rescue operations conducted by the USS Kirk during the final days of the Vietnam War. Directed by Rory Kennedy, the niece of President John F. Kennedy, the film was nominated for a 2015 Oscar.
2. The US Steals A Russian Attack Helicopter Using a Helicopter
In 1987, Libya and Chad were informally at war due to Libya’s covetous behavior toward Chad’s territory. Not long before, the Russians began selling their new helicopter, the MI-25 Hind-D. What made this helicopter of special interest was that it was designed to operate as an offensive threat, able to carry a special forces team in a tightly cramped bay and offer air support after delivering them, as well. At the time, American helicopters, by comparison, had only defensive capabilities at best. After rumors spread of the Hind’s use in Ethiopian and Afghani skirmishes, the CIA wanted to learn as much as it could about the helicopter and possibly begin work on a counter version.
To the US’s good luck, Chad was able to force the Libyan troops back from its borders, and in the scramble to retreat, Libya left behind a perfectly good MI-25. Through diplomatic channels, the CIA was able to negotiate a deal with Chad and enlisted the help of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Group, better know as the Night Stalkers, to retrieve the helicopter for analysis. The Army modified Chinooks to be able to carry the weight of the estimated 9-ton copter and sent two to Chad. Even though Libya had been driven from Chadian territory, a number of Libyan soldiers remained in the area, and it wouldn’t have made for good international news if the US were to be caught stealing a piece of Soviet-made Libyan equipment. The plan was to fly in under cover of darkness and take off at first light with their prize.
Upon arrival in Chad, the first Chinook, Chalk 1, cleared the area around the Hind and got it ready to be hitched to the second Chinook, Chalk 2, while it hovered above. The operation went off perfectly, except for a sandstorm that Chalk 2 had to race back to the air base. From there, a massive C-5 Galaxy heavy airlift jet took all three choppers back to the US just 36 hours later.
1. Avalanche Bomber Survives Helicopter Crash and Buried Explosives
Kevin Fogolin holds a unique profession as an avalanche expert, dropping bombs from helicopters to trigger avalanches that clear hazardous areas. In March 2009, while performing his usual job in British Columbia, he realized the bomb he had just released had landed much closer than anticipated. The helicopter's rotor wash created a cloud of snow, reducing visibility for the pilot. With only 6 meters (20 ft) of space, the rotor blades struck the mountain, causing the helicopter to crash down the slope, engulfed by snow.
As the helicopter tumbled, Fogolin found himself buried beneath 70 kilograms (150 lb) of explosives. Strapped tightly in place, he knew the bomb he'd dropped earlier had a lit fuse, and he urgently needed to escape the helicopter and explosives as they plummeted down a 2,100-meter (7,000 ft) cliff. The helicopter's descent only halted moments before an even greater drop of 1,800 meters (6,000 ft).
Once the helicopter stopped moving, Fogolin managed to free himself and ran for safety, accompanied by the pilot and another crew member. Shortly afterward, the bomb detonated, setting off an avalanche that chased them down the mountain. They reached a ridge and survived, and thanks to the helicopter's tracking device, they were rescued that evening by—you guessed it—a helicopter.
