UN rescue mission, shooting and injured helicopter pilot

Captain Sergius Music, who started his career in the Soviet Army, never dreamed that his final deployment before retirement after a 43 -year -old pilot helicopter would be played as Tom Cruise’s movie.

The 60-year-old Ukrainian found himself in a terrible and fatal situation in South Sudan, when what seemed like a normal operation for the UN earlier this month, turned into the most dramatic career.

During his military service, it included 20 years in the Ukrainian army – he served in Afghanistan and other dangerous places. He also encountered other danger zones while working as a private contractor, including the rescue of the victims of the plane crash in Somalia in 2015.

But the mission of evacuating the wounded soldiers from a military base in Novir in northern Sudan’s Upper Neil is its most memorable.

After they arrived after they arrived after they took away the crew’s life and more than two dozen South Sudan soldiers on the ground.

He was shot dead in his hand, miraculously lifted and sent a damaged helicopter for safety.

The small clip he shot on his phone from the cabin showed him bloody, closest control elements covered with blood, and the windshield was broken when he and his pilot flew low over the crosses for almost an hour before the nearest airport.

He was “like a movie”, he confessed to the BBC – he clearly stuck the events.

“I thought it happened in a dream,” added a pilot who worked at a company called Ukrainian helicopters.

On the day of the company’s ejection, the UN Mission in South Sudan was contracting to evacuate six wounded soldiers, one of whom was common and two of its negotiating.

UN peacekeepers there are trying to keep a peaceful deal that conceived around the edges with Warnings that the world’s latest country will quickly immerse themselves in another civil war.

The first, which broke out three years after independence, lasted five years and killed almost 400,000 people.

He was subjected to President Salva Kieir against Vice President Riek Machar – with each support of his ethnic groups.

The couple agreed to end the war in 2018 – and one of the goals of their transaction to distribute power was to join their rivals and create a single military.

But recent clashes in the Nasir district show distrust of slow progress in this.

In the region, a militia known as the White Army was founded – its recruits fought in support of Murne during the civil war.

Communities there are distrustful troops of the ordinary army, which are regarded as faithful Kira and call for united.

But last month, more regular army soldiers were sent to the area – the relocation of the murder said that the ceasefire violation and the transitional deal – and the tension flared.

Cyrus stated that the decision was the usual rotation of the squad, but the situation quickly deteriorated when the White Army confiscated the army on March 4.

This is when the captain music and his team were intended to fly out of the soldiers.

They already made one trip – March 6 – successfully taking 10 people after landing to the designated point for UN use.

The next day they returned – and everything went on plan until the passengers began to sit down.

The shooting began, and it was difficult to say what was happening.

The first captain music knew that something was seriously wrong when he saw the blood watched from his left hand.

He was then shot dead by his stewardess Sergi Parish, which stood before the UN chief negotiator.

Captain Music knew that they were attacked, and his military training began: “The shooting began in front and right, and then on the left. I decided to perform immediately.”

When he got up, he said he saw the soldiers falling to the ground outside the plane.

“I couldn’t say exactly what time we spent (between the start of shooting and removal) – perhaps a tiny part of a second.”

The helicopter frame continued to beat when it became air, the fuel sides were punched.

They needed to get to the airport in the regional capital of Malakal, which was an hour of ride, and everything looked not good in the cab.

“Some systems were damaged – as the main gearbox,” he said.

The possibility of an emergency area was always present during the flight. So CAPT MUZYKA decided to fly as fast and low as soon as he could.

“The oil temperature was (AT) critical – maximum, and I flew 100 m (328 feet) above ground level.”

Thus, according to his calculations, he could perform an emergency for 20 seconds.

He also asked his crew to search for breakdowns – free from trees and shrubs – just in case it was necessary.

At the same time, the flight engineer stopped the bleeding on the captain’s hand, using the shirt as a shoulder.

In the video, a torn shirt can be seen, tied a little over the elbow – blood was on the lower hand, pants and scattered in its seat.

The footage also shows the flow of blood clotting on the forehead before going to the crew member without a shirt and pilot, which also suffered injury.

He felt pain in the right side, said Captain Music.

“Fortunately, it was a small trauma from plastic fragments from the right window.”

When they finally approached the milk airport, they felt more difficult. The front wheel of the helicopter was blocked by taking the attack during the attack.

However, the music captain managed to land successfully 49 minutes after take -off and with more than 20 gunshot holes on the body.

“It was great relief,” he said to the BBC.

It was at this point that he felt pain from the injury. It was so surreal that I thought, “Maybe I sleep.”

During his military pilot, he said he was only when he was attacked – in Afghanistan in 1987: “I saw a couple of bullets that went through my blades during a night flight. And that’s all.”

Crew and passengers received medical care as soon as they got into the milk.

However, it is impossible to save a 41-year-old Mr Parish who died of injuries.

“We couldn’t believe it,” the captain said.

Later, the crew of Ukrainian helicopters was circled at the ceremony where they were awarded the UN Medal. The head of the UN mission said the attack “could become a war crime under international law.”

The crew was difficult to accept the loss of his colleague – and the incident added their concerns about relatives home, which was attacked by Russian forces.

Captain Music returned to Ukraine for treatment and seeing his family.

He hopes for the future that “common sense will prevail in the world,” and while he knows that the pension is on the cards, he still feels young “because I can fly.”