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Ray Mears: How I survived a helicopter crash

TV survival expert Ray Mears explains how lessons learnt from judo helped him to stay calm when a helicopter he was in crashed

The TV presenter Ray Mears is famous for his survival skills, but when a helicopter he was flying in crashed, he called on lessons learnt in school judo class to help him handle the situation.

He was in the United States filming Ray Mears' Bushcraft for the Â鶹Éç, flying over the dramatic landscape of Wyoming.

Flying over a ridge, heading downwind, the pilot suddenly found he didn't have enough power to maintain a safe height, and the helicopter hit the ground.

Ray describes how lucky he was to survive as fuel from the damaged helicopter "blew onto us like a cloud".

In that moment he says lessons learned from his school Judo teacher, Kingsley Hopkins, came into his mind: "if you're ever in an accident, relax".

He also stressed the importance of first aid training because "it takes the fear away, because it gives you something to focus on".

Ray says everyone should learn first aid.

This clip is originally from 5live's Peter Allen and Caroline Barker on 10th Febuary 2019.

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