INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
military pilot Mykola Volkozub could barely move under the weight of a lead vest meant to protect him from radiation as he prepared for his
first flight over the Chernobyl reactor after the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986.Remembering the incident still brings tears to
the eyes of Volkozub, who survived the risk of radiation poisoning to live to a ripe age of 86 and still supervises test pilots for Antonov,
a state-run aircraft manufacturer.Volkozub was deployed in a team of two pilots, an engineer and a scientist, to fly an MI-8 helicopter over
the reactor to measure the temperature and composition of gases inside.Thursday marks the 32th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster in
then-Soviet Ukraine, caused by a botched safety test in the fourth reactor of the atomic plant that sent clouds of nuclear material across
That's why I took such a decision immediately," he told Reuters in the hangar at an Antonov factory, where he has worked for 23
years.Volkozub was awarded a 'Hero of Ukraine' medal for his efforts
After performing three flights which lasted for 19 minutes 40 seconds in total, Volkozub was exposed to such a high dose of radiation that
so-called cemetery for decommissioned equipment, something he recalls with tears in his eyes."I landed there, near (the site)
And when I left the place, I felt very sorry for the helicopter
It seemed to me it had not failed me, but I had to throw it away," he said.Right after his third flight on May 10, 1986, Volkozub was sent
to Moscow for medical tests
He remembered how nurses, afraid of contamination, pushed food towards him with the help of a long stick to avoid physical interaction with
