Great sympathy for him on two counts.
1. The weather was pretty poor (see BBC picture). ok so I'm not a pilot, but I have been navigationally embarrassed in the mountains a couple of times.
2. During a Vienna Document inspection in Kazakhstan (whilst serving on JACIG) I recall a Mi17 flight heading south from Karaganda (of A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich fame). Nothing but grass, grass and more grass for over an hour of flight. Then a railway line (with station but no associated village - 'because mandated in 5 year plan'). Then grass etc for another 45 minutes, then Lake Balkash (and Mig 25 base).
And drifting a little. Cold War warriors might remember those plastic sheets showing a Motor Rifle Regiment at 1:50 000 scale, deployed for advance. Well, on the steppe we saw a Motor Rifle Regiment, parked up in ranks just like that, slowly rusting away, with the grass poking through the tracks.
Regards
Batco
Last edited by BATCO; 17th Feb 2017 at 06:28.
Reason: typo