The second life of Philippe St-Pierre
Philippe St-Pierre was setting out on an annual hunting trip with four friends in a remote part of Quebec's Côte-Nord region in September 2016. But the trip turned into a nightmare shortly after he took control of the float plane he was to pilot into their hunt camp.
Shortly after takeoff, the engine failed and the plane began to fall from the sky. St-Pierre, who had been flying for more than 15 years, attempted to steer it back on to the nearby lake, but the plane didn't have time to gain enough altitude or speed.
A few seconds later, the plane crashed into the forest and caught fire on impact.
St-Pierre, speaking in French, described what happened next.
"Everything happened very fast. We didn't have time to think about very much," he recalls. "Both doors were jammed. I pushed the windshield with my hands. I knew it was going to hurt. I took a shower of flaming gasoline leaving the plane."
St-Pierre, badly burned, succeeded in leaving the plane, but his two friends who were passengers weren't as lucky. Alain Lafontaine and Eric Cossette died in the crash.
Two other hunting companions who weren't in the plane helped St-Pierre get back to the camp. His burns were so severe, and nerve endings so badly damaged, he felt no pain.
"I saw myself in the mirror. I was completely black, I thought it was from the soot. But, removing my clothes, I saw my skin peeling off," said St-Pierre.
Miraculous survival
In addition to having his friends close by, St-Pierre also had a satellite phone to call for help.
A rescue team from CFB Trenton, all the way from Ontario, came to his rescue nearly nine hours later.
"It's probably the nine longest hours of my life. I was seated in my camp and I saw my burned airplane at the lakeshore. I knew my good friends were inside," he said.
St-Pierre was transported to a hospital in Sept-Îles and then to the burn unit at Hôpital de l'Enfant-Jésus in Quebec City.
Incredibly, after hours of waiting, he survived the ordeal.
A long rehabilitation
St-Pierre was placed in a medically induced coma, permitting doctors to perform numerous life-saving skin grafts and operations. On the bright side, his vision and internal organs were not damaged.
Doctors had to wait more than two months before helping him out of the coma.
"I noticed there were no mirrors in the hospital room. That wasn't for nothing. They recreated my face, completely. Ears, nose, skull, piece by piece."
Today, the owner of three Outaouais car dealerships is philosophical about his transformation.
"Appearances, it's a little bit like the colour of your car. When you're inside, you don't see it. My appearance, it's people around me who notice it. It doesn't bother me. It'll never change."
St-Pierre also taught himself to walk again with the help of long physiotherapy sessions.
Does he ever get discouraged?
"I've seen others who have gone through this. We don't have the luxury of getting discouraged. My family has put in a lot of energy, effort and hope into this," said St-Pierre, who said he plans to someday fly again.
He also plans to spend as much time as possible with his family, including his 14-month-old daughter.
"It's as if I finished my first life at 40. I woke up at the age of 41 and had the chance to have a second one. It's really rare," he said.
"I just hope that my second life will be even more beautiful than the first."
