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N.S. soldiers to receive bravery medals
By SUSAN AITKEN
HALIFAX (CP) - Stephane Deraps had been hanging upside down, trapped in the cockpit of his bush plane for four long, painful hours.
His three passengers were dead, killed after the plane crashed into the dense forest of a hillside in Natashquan, Que., just north of Anticosti Island.
Finally, the 31-year-old pilot from Natashquan, Que., heard voices.
"I knew they were my deliverance," Deraps said recently. "Without them, I was finished."
Two search and rescue technicians from Nova Scotia had reached Deraps after parachuting down from a CC-130 Hercules aircraft.
Master Cpl. Steeve Bedard and Sgt. Andre Hotton will receive medals of bravery this June from the Governor General for their role in the harrowing rescue of Deraps almost a year and a half ago.
The pair had jumped into the high winds and darkness of the eastern Quebec forest, hoping to catch their parachutes on the limbs of the tallest tree.
"You never know when you jump what you are about to see," said Bedard recently from CFB Greenwood in the Annapolis Valley, where he and Hotton are based.
What they saw after tumbling through the branches on Sept. 30, 2002, was an Otter float plane upside down, partially embedded in the slippery moss of a steep hillside.
There were only a few millimetres separating the pinned Deraps from the metal of the dash.
His legs were trapped under the dash, leaving the rest of his body suspended in the air. His eyes were badly bleeding from the crash.
The group had been travelling to a hunting cabin with another plane, piloted by Deraps‘ father, when fog shifted and Deraps‘ aircraft ended up crashing into the side of slope.
Bedard and Hotton secured the plane to trees with rope so it wouldn‘t slip and crush the pilot.
"We used what we had as gear and what we found at the crash site," said Bedard.
Gear and fuel from the airplane had been strewn around the area.
"We had a rescue axe, like a big can opener, and a pocket multi-tool, then only what we found, like a screwdriver, a saw blade and a pair of vice grips," recalled Bedard.
"But we wanted to save his legs."
By this point, Deraps had been dangling for more than eight hours.
"I was in a lot of pain and crying out ‘Cut my legs! Take the axe and cut my legs.‘ But all the time they just kept trying."
Then came the extra help that would prove pivotal to Deraps‘ survival.
Concerned why his son hadn‘t arrived at the cabin, Lennard Deraps returned to Natashquan, Que., but found no sign of him.
Retracing the route with his other son, Eric, the men came upon the coast guard helicopter that had initially spotted the crash.
The chopper‘s crew led the men through the woods to the crash site, where they were immediately put to work.
Bedard needed the medical supplies that had been dropped from the Hercules when they parachuted down, especially if he was to save Deraps badly injured eyes.
"I just told them, ‘Follow this chord, you‘ll find a bag,"‘ said Bedard.
"If you have to cut the parachute that‘s attached to it, I don‘t care. I need what‘s in that bag."
Eventually they freed Deraps without having to sever any limbs.
Then Bedard said he saw a picture he will never forget.
"It was the noise when I saw the Labrador helicopter, the darkness and then the light, to me it was just like the angel of the sky coming in."
Deraps was hoisted into the chopper and taken to hospital without ever seeing the faces of his rescuers.
Bedard was left behind to secure the scene and wonder what would happen to the man he calls "a brave soul with a lot of will to live".
When asked about the men who rescued him that cold night, French-speaking Deraps said he‘s often wished they would receive a medal.
He‘s made a full recovery since the accident and made his first solo flight since the crash just last month.
"I‘ve been trying to reach these men, but I‘ve never been able to find them. I‘m alive today - it‘s because of these two men. They didn‘t just save my legs, and my eyes, they saved my life."
When told the Governor General would present the medal to Bedard and Hotton in Ottawa, Deraps said no one deserved it more.
"If I can, I will try to go to meet them. To tell them thanks. It was special what they did," he said.
"I can see my wife, I can see my children and I can continue to fly."
N.S. soldiers to receive bravery medals
By SUSAN AITKEN
HALIFAX (CP) - Stephane Deraps had been hanging upside down, trapped in the cockpit of his bush plane for four long, painful hours.
His three passengers were dead, killed after the plane crashed into the dense forest of a hillside in Natashquan, Que., just north of Anticosti Island.
Finally, the 31-year-old pilot from Natashquan, Que., heard voices.
"I knew they were my deliverance," Deraps said recently. "Without them, I was finished."
Two search and rescue technicians from Nova Scotia had reached Deraps after parachuting down from a CC-130 Hercules aircraft.
Master Cpl. Steeve Bedard and Sgt. Andre Hotton will receive medals of bravery this June from the Governor General for their role in the harrowing rescue of Deraps almost a year and a half ago.
The pair had jumped into the high winds and darkness of the eastern Quebec forest, hoping to catch their parachutes on the limbs of the tallest tree.
"You never know when you jump what you are about to see," said Bedard recently from CFB Greenwood in the Annapolis Valley, where he and Hotton are based.
What they saw after tumbling through the branches on Sept. 30, 2002, was an Otter float plane upside down, partially embedded in the slippery moss of a steep hillside.
There were only a few millimetres separating the pinned Deraps from the metal of the dash.
His legs were trapped under the dash, leaving the rest of his body suspended in the air. His eyes were badly bleeding from the crash.
The group had been travelling to a hunting cabin with another plane, piloted by Deraps‘ father, when fog shifted and Deraps‘ aircraft ended up crashing into the side of slope.
Bedard and Hotton secured the plane to trees with rope so it wouldn‘t slip and crush the pilot.
"We used what we had as gear and what we found at the crash site," said Bedard.
Gear and fuel from the airplane had been strewn around the area.
"We had a rescue axe, like a big can opener, and a pocket multi-tool, then only what we found, like a screwdriver, a saw blade and a pair of vice grips," recalled Bedard.
"But we wanted to save his legs."
By this point, Deraps had been dangling for more than eight hours.
"I was in a lot of pain and crying out ‘Cut my legs! Take the axe and cut my legs.‘ But all the time they just kept trying."
Then came the extra help that would prove pivotal to Deraps‘ survival.
Concerned why his son hadn‘t arrived at the cabin, Lennard Deraps returned to Natashquan, Que., but found no sign of him.
Retracing the route with his other son, Eric, the men came upon the coast guard helicopter that had initially spotted the crash.
The chopper‘s crew led the men through the woods to the crash site, where they were immediately put to work.
Bedard needed the medical supplies that had been dropped from the Hercules when they parachuted down, especially if he was to save Deraps badly injured eyes.
"I just told them, ‘Follow this chord, you‘ll find a bag,"‘ said Bedard.
"If you have to cut the parachute that‘s attached to it, I don‘t care. I need what‘s in that bag."
Eventually they freed Deraps without having to sever any limbs.
Then Bedard said he saw a picture he will never forget.
"It was the noise when I saw the Labrador helicopter, the darkness and then the light, to me it was just like the angel of the sky coming in."
Deraps was hoisted into the chopper and taken to hospital without ever seeing the faces of his rescuers.
Bedard was left behind to secure the scene and wonder what would happen to the man he calls "a brave soul with a lot of will to live".
When asked about the men who rescued him that cold night, French-speaking Deraps said he‘s often wished they would receive a medal.
He‘s made a full recovery since the accident and made his first solo flight since the crash just last month.
"I‘ve been trying to reach these men, but I‘ve never been able to find them. I‘m alive today - it‘s because of these two men. They didn‘t just save my legs, and my eyes, they saved my life."
When told the Governor General would present the medal to Bedard and Hotton in Ottawa, Deraps said no one deserved it more.
"If I can, I will try to go to meet them. To tell them thanks. It was special what they did," he said.
"I can see my wife, I can see my children and I can continue to fly."
