Some of our expeditions receive an unexpected follow-ups and we return to the same places, but with other, not reconnaissance purposes.
The story of the Algonian wetland, the Fedorov path and the “Dragon’s lair” on the Temple Mount has developed and the participants of these stories are now doing joint projects.
Returning from the cycling expedition, we began to discuss the story of 2 soviet planes crashed in the sky over bureysky taiga on August 24, 1981.
By an incredible miracle one of the passengers survived in that plane crash. Her name is Larisa Savitskaya, Amur region resident, she fell from a height of 5500 meters.
The tragedy did not go public, didn’t even set a memorial sign at the place of the crash. The loss of a military plane was completely classified.
Same time we decided to do everything possible to find the wreckage of the plane and honor the memory of passengers and crew members. We decided to organize a search expedition June 2020 both with colleagues from Russian Automobile Federation. The most passable machinery was involved in it. The crews also included the families of expeditioners, journalists, cameramen, and a huntsman.
The most difficult was overcoming the ford on the Dikan river. The bridge was burnt and there were no other ways. The river is mountainous and its rise is instant. Having broken through the ford, we moved along the old Fyodorov path through the impassable forests of the Alekseevsky nature reserve.
These forests are famous for a huge number of hoofed animals and bears. Three weeks before that right on the road we ran into one such a bear.
The way to the base camp passed through the Dikan, Talaya and Bugan rivers. The bridge on Bugan river is a real den of snakes crawling out to bask in the sun. The places are wild, interesting for rafting and fishing.
Day two of the expedition was decisive – we began the search for wreckage scattered across the taiga. The task was complicated by the green underbrush that hid most of the wreckage. Part of the wreckage was taken out in 90s as scrap.
The mechanization of An-24 (plane) wing was miraculously found. Returning home, we took it to the museum of the Novobureisky village.
This is not the whole story …
While we were busy with the search of wreckage, the SSB-Kino company and Dmitry Suvorov in Perm krai filmed a feature film based on these events “Alone”. Larisa Savitskaya was the consultant.
In the fall of 2020, Andrei Kharitonov and I were invited to Moscow for the «Let them talk» TV show. We were asked to bring that piece of the crushed plane. Half a year passed after this meeting and in April 2021 a new round of the story – the director and the film crew arrived to Blagoveshchensk in May 2021.
Last year a small monument was put at the site of the tragedy.
