We like to make a lot of hay about the delightful weirdness of Russia around here. What with their surprise tank crossings, indestructible bears, cryptids, and swift vigilante justice, it's pretty easy to find something to love in the Motherland. Not to be outdone by its larger neighbor, today's taste of post-Soviet weirdness comes to us from Kazakhstan in a video that involves attack helicopters, big trucks, and a blinding snowstorm.
Since none of us speak or read Russian, Kazakh, or any of its many dialects, we're not entirely sure what's going on in this video. We're really good at context clues though, so here's what we think went on. Sometime last week out on the lonely Kazakh steppe, a blinding snowstorm apparently forced a Kazakh Air Force Mi-17 "Hip" attack helicopter to put down on a lonely stretch of highway.
Once the chopper was firmly on the ground, a crewman in a flight suit and ushanka, probably the flight engineer, hopped out and ran toward a tractor-trailer that was stopped along the shoulder. Once he made it to the truck, the Hip crewman and the trucker had a short conversation that involved a lot of pointing, shrugging, and general gesticulating. Once he was satisfied, the crewman threw the trucker a fist bump and a quick salute and ran back to the waiting chopper.
Now, we're not saying that a Kazakh Air Force chopper definitely set down on a highway to ask directions from a trucker, but that's sure what it looks like. Honestly, depending on what was going on with the Hip, that's not as crazy an idea as it seems. If the pilot was navigating by Mk.I Eyeball because his instruments were thrown off by the snow or more likely because the chopper's poorly maintained, million-year-old, Soviet-era avionics package was on the fritz, he probably couldn't see a thing from the air. Setting down and asking for directions probably helped ensure that the crew and their chopper got back to base. And who better to ask than a long-haul trucker?
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Since none of us speak or read Russian, Kazakh, or any of its many dialects, we're not entirely sure what's going on in this video. We're really good at context clues though, so here's what we think went on. Sometime last week out on the lonely Kazakh steppe, a blinding snowstorm apparently forced a Kazakh Air Force Mi-17 "Hip" attack helicopter to put down on a lonely stretch of highway.
Once the chopper was firmly on the ground, a crewman in a flight suit and ushanka, probably the flight engineer, hopped out and ran toward a tractor-trailer that was stopped along the shoulder. Once he made it to the truck, the Hip crewman and the trucker had a short conversation that involved a lot of pointing, shrugging, and general gesticulating. Once he was satisfied, the crewman threw the trucker a fist bump and a quick salute and ran back to the waiting chopper.
Now, we're not saying that a Kazakh Air Force chopper definitely set down on a highway to ask directions from a trucker, but that's sure what it looks like. Honestly, depending on what was going on with the Hip, that's not as crazy an idea as it seems. If the pilot was navigating by Mk.I Eyeball because his instruments were thrown off by the snow or more likely because the chopper's poorly maintained, million-year-old, Soviet-era avionics package was on the fritz, he probably couldn't see a thing from the air. Setting down and asking for directions probably helped ensure that the crew and their chopper got back to base. And who better to ask than a long-haul trucker?
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