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Air Armenia: Veteran plans polar tribute to Genocide victims

A disabled Karabakh war veteran plans to fly to the North Pole on a light plane to draw the world’s attention to the Armenian Genocide.

Arshavir Sahakyan will pilot an AN-2 plane painted in the colors of the Armenian and Karabakh flags to the North Pole, where he wants to place the two Armenian republics’ tricolors and the Holy Cross of the Armenian Apostolic Church to mark the 90th anniversary this year of the Armenian Genocide.

The 54-year-old, who worked as a civil aviation and polar pilot before the war and currently heads the Catholicos Vazgen I Disabled War Veterans NGO, will be assisted by a dozen companions in what he calls “a patriotic action”. But he says only six of them, including himself, will actually reach the North Pole, while another six will ensure a secure comeback.

“Our goal is lofty,” says Sahakyan. “Never before have Armenian flags been planted on top of our planet and as a man who has spent 11 years in the polar region I feel the strength to take up this mission.”

The expedition is due to begin in mid-March and is expected to last 38 days. All being well, the brave dozen will return to Yerevan by April 24 – the Genocide Commemoration Day.

According to Sahakyan, in order to get to the North Pole they will have to make stopovers in 26 cities and towns on their way towards Nizhneyansk – their last mainland base situated in the north of Eastern Siberia, Russia. In Nizhneyansk the plane will swap wheels for skis and continue the flight over ice and water.

On the way to its final destination the plane will land on Kotelni Island in the Arctic Ocean and another predetermined point on the ice.

Sahakyan, who knows the Arctic Region well and has worked with groups headed by polar explorer Artur Chilingarov (and Deputy Speaker of the Russian Parliament), estimates that the effort will require about 278 hours of work, during which they will cover a distance of some 44,500 kilometers, using 28.6 tons of fuel. He says at least $80,000 is needed for the expedition to meet the costs of transportation, food, equipment and other essentials.

“We have already secured some of the funds thanks to a number of donors, but we still need donations for this action,” says Sahakyan. “The Arctic is a hostile environment that will punish those who are unprepared. But we are sure about one thing – we will make it no matter what.”

This is not the first time Sahakyan has embarked on a dangerous adventure to prove that disabled people can lead full lives.

An experienced pilot with 150 parachute jumps during his career in aviation, Sahakyan was once let down by fate when he suffered serious injuries in a 1993 battle during the Karabakh war, having been a freedom-fighter for a year and a half. He lost a leg, an arm and one eye, but not his fighting spirit.

Very soon he obtained artificial limbs and, founded an NGO for disabled war veterans, would often risk his life to raise cash for his fellow freedom fighters.

In 1998, Sahakyan made his 151st parachute jump in an attempt to win a $10,000 cheque by getting into the Guinness Book of Records. A technicality connected with registration of the record prevented him from obtaining his goal. Four years later, on May 7, 2002, he made his second parachute jump as a disabled person and dedicated it to the 10th anniversary of the liberation of Shushi.

“I have been planning this trip to the North Pole for two years, since my last parachute jump. It has become the mission of my life, my contribution to the nation’s cause,” says Sahakyan.

He says a journalist from the Russian MIR TV company will be on board the plane to cover the whole journey, including the landing on the Pole and the planting of the flags and the cross. The film will be shown in all countries of the former Soviet Union.

In recent months Sahakyan’s initiative has attracted the attention of both ordinary members of the public and scientists.

Sergey Gasparyan, 53, a candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, who had worked for the Institute of Mechanics for many years, learned about the planned expedition from a newspaper article. He responded by organizing a discussion of this initiative in a seminar at the institute in December.

“I think this action is very important for our nation,” says Gasparyan. “It must take place this year when we commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Genocide by all means and therefore I will continue to hold new seminars to attract more specialists and the media.”

Edward Stepanyan also learned about Sahakyan’s initiative by chance. The 77-year-old pensioner and his sister decided to give 1,000 drams each from their small pensions to help the cause.

“This trip will be a real sensation,” Stepanyan says. “Now that the entire Armenian nation is pursuing Hay Dat, it has become a cause for every Armenian no matter where he lives or what party he belongs to.”