A trip to look for diamonds in the Arctic transformed into a life-changing event for Squamish resident and helicopter pilot James Kitchen.
On March 13, 2011, Kitchen and his colleague William Ward headed north while working for a diamond company and after a few weather delays landed in Iqaluit, Nunavut for breakfast.
But before the duo could down a coffee or sink their teeth into a muffin, they received an unusual request from the dispatcher.
“The lady got on the line and told us that they needed us to push out and go for a rescue,” Kitchen said. “I thought – you have to be kidding me. It was about -35 and she told us two people were floating on an iceberg in the ocean. We thought holy sh*t and headed out.”
Rescue training wasn’t completely new to Kitchen, who has been a pilot since 2003. He had been involved in rescue situations in Yellowknife and Whistler prior to the call.
“When you fly in the bush, you can be the go-to guy in small communities,” he said. “It can be an interesting career.”
Kitchen explained that the two stranded people were experienced hunters with GPS and satellite phone capabilities. He said they had proper gear and it helped he and Ward get on the right track to finding them.
“We followed their skidoo tracks, and it led us to a bunch of open water,” he said. “We couldn’t see anybody at first but then we circled back and one of them had put a tarp down to make them more visible. We quickly saw him but then saw his buddy literally bobbing in the ocean on two jerry cans.”
The hunter, an Inuit man named David Alexander, had been trying to stay afloat for over three hours by the time Kitchen had arrived. The jerry cans worked to keep him above the water but he had been submerged in the ocean several times.
“We had to come in backwards to get him,” Kitchen explained. “And hover over right on top of him. Will hung outside and just reached down and grabbed him.”
Kitchen and Ward then picked up the other man but the hunters were in rough shape.
“Alexander was blue,” he said. “His lips were the colour of blueberries. How he lived I have no idea, but he’s an amazing human being. I still keep in touch with both of them and they’re both fine.”
Kitchen, who has lived in Squamish since 2008, received a Decoration of Bravery medal from the Governor General of Canada on March 6 for his heroic efforts.
“The medal is tucked away in a special place,” he said. “I went to Ottawa for two days and met the Governor General. It was amazing and a very cool experience.”
Despite his act of bravery, Kitchen said it was just another day in the office.
“It’s a rewarding career – I don’t think I could sit at a desk and do the same thing every day,” he said. “But it’s give and take in this industry. I get helped out all the time by local First Nations, so to give back is a good feeling. There have been many times where I’m in a small community and all the hotels are booked and someone takes you in. I’ve even been broken down in the middle of a snowstorm up north and someone comes in a skidoo and helps me out. But to get the medal is a great honour.”
Kitchen, who has logged over 6,500 hours in the cockpit, said he will never forget March 13, 2011 – and neither will the two men whose lives he helped save.
