KINGSTON, Ont. – Rick Lang will never forget the past two weeks of his life. 

The head coach for Northern Ontario’s Team Brad Jacobs arrived at the Tim Hortons Brier in Kingston, Ont., on Saturday, less than a week after surviving a frightening plane crash while returning home from the Scotties Tournament of Hearts where he was the bench boss for Team Krista McCarville. 

“I think we’re very grateful to be alive,” the three-time Brier champion told reporters on Saturday. 

Lang, Northern Ontario skip Krista McCarville, second Ashley Sippala, plus three other passengers and two crew members all survived the crash with minor injuries after their Bearskin Airlines flight went off the runway during takeoff on Monday in Dryden, Ont. 

The near-death experience was just one part of an unbelievable stretch of days for the 65-year-old.

During a stunning upset loss to Nunavut at the Scotties in Moose Jaw, Sask., the week prior, Lang’s daughter Sarah Potts gave birth to twin baby boys named Cohen and Leo, making Lang a grandfather for the first time. Potts is an elite-level curler herself, representing Northern Ontario four times at the Scotties. 

The babies were born at 31 weeks and five days, approximately two months premature. 

Lang says the babies stayed in hospital for a few days and were hooked up to incubators and ventilators but are now back home with their parents happy and healthy. 

“We all know about the Sandra Schmirler Foundation,” said Lang of the organization that raises money for life-saving equipment to help babies born prematurely. “We’ll be donating more money in the future to that for sure.”

Still, at the time Lang was anxious to get home as soon as possible due to the surprise nature of the birth. 

“I was so looking forward to getting home,” he said.

Getting home to Thunder Bay, Ont., was easier said than done, however. Northern Ontario lost to Ontario in the page playoff 3 vs. 4 game last Saturday as Lang and other members of the team were hoping to get a direct flight home out of Winnipeg or Toronto. With the Special Olympics taking place in Thunder Bay, flights out of those cities were booked solid meaning Lang and company needed to take a series of smaller aircrafts through multiple airports to get home. 

“We’ve flown Bearskin before and we wanted to really get home,” said Lang. 

The long travel day was going fine until takeoff at the Dryden Airport. Lang says the plane got about three quarters of the way down the runaway when it veered off to the right and hit a snowbank. The collision with the snowbank wasn’t too awful, recounts Lang, but once the propellers started to slash through the ice, that’s when things got very scary. 

“It got quite violent. They [shrapnel and debris] were coming into the cabin,” said Lang. “I sat in the very front seat because there was a lot of leg room. That was a mistake because there was a propeller here and they were both coming at me.

“My first thought before the violence was ‘sh*t we’re not getting home today.’ I know how bad the girls wanted to get home for all our kids and everything. I can’t describe my thoughts at the time. Things started exploding and I covered my head in my hands. I put my head down. The level of violence was significant.”

Lang suffered the worst injuries on board as pieces of wooden debris impaled his hand, including one shard that went right through. 

“I pulled it out because it was such a big piece of wood. It would hurt to leave it in there,” Lang said. 

Lang, who famously played third for popular skip Al Hackner during his playing days, was treated at hospital and was able to drive home to his family and meet his grandchildren for the first time the next day. 

The coach says he doesn’t know how long it will take to get over this experience but is just thankful he’s still alive. 

“I got together with Krista and Ashley just to compare notes to talk it through. We’re all just feeling the impacts of it. It will be a while before you get over that. I think I’m better everyday. Then I talk to you guys [media] and I’m not so good,” Lang joked. “It was frightening. Absolutely frightening. But, honest to God, so grateful that the girls didn’t get hurt and my injuries are minor. We’re all alive.”

It wouldn’t be surprising to anyone if Lang feared jumping on a plane going forward. But Lang has a job to do at the Brier. Lang, with his son Adam by his side for support, flew direct from Thunder Bay to Kingston for the opening day of the Canadian championship. 

Lang is hoping the intensity of the Brier will be a welcomed distraction. 

“I’m not going to be emotionally impacted here. We can pull this off,” said Lang. “Get on the ice. I’m a curler. I’m a competitor and I think once we start throwing rocks I’ll be thinking about that and be able to move on.” 

Lang says they should know more about the cause of the crash in 10 days or so. For now, Lang is just focusing on winning a fourth Brier Tankard and his first as a coach. 

“I’ve been looking forward to the Brier ever since they won provincials,” said Lang.