Dangerous weather forced pilot to unexpectedly land his plane carrying 12 rescue kittens — but his bold backup plan to get them home stunned everyone
A volunteer pilot had embarked on a rescue mission to transport 12 kittens to safety, but bad weather proved to be an unexpected challenge. Robert Adriaanse, a volunteer pilot for Canadian Wings of Rescue (CWOR), was flying the kittens to their new homes from Fort St. John, British Columbia, to Vancouver Island on October 22, 2025. When the weather seemed to worsen, Adriaanse had no choice but to make a sudden landing. While this could have been a huge blow to his rescue mission, the animal lover refused to give up. His determination led him to transport the kittens safely after a long mission.
Adriaanse was piloting the rescue flight with his son Thomas after their early morning departure from Fort St. John. They made prior weather checks and consulted with the Kamloops Flight Information Centre before taking off right after sunrise. There were no signs of bad weather until the pilot stopped for fuel in Quesnel. They were met with strong headwinds and unexpected weather conditions, prompting the pilots to make an unplanned landing in Lillooet. It would have been impossible to steer the plane safely amidst the drastic weather that struck them near the Coast Mountains in British Columbia.
While the landing almost foiled their plans of transporting the kittens to their destination, the pilots were met with a group of kind strangers. Chris Strube, a local pilot and retired climatologist, and two paramedics, enjoying a break at the airfield, made sure the pilots were back on track. Strube lent them his truck to continue the trip, and the group contacted a local animal advocacy organization to accommodate the cats temporarily. Hours later, the father-son duo arrived at their destination in Victoria on Strube’s truck around 11 p.m. The dozen kittens were finally brought to safety with due credit to all of the kind people who made the mission a complete success.
Adriaanse routinely assists the volunteer-run charity, CWOR, believing in their cause that every animal deserves a second chance at life. Their core mission is to transport every abandoned or stray animal across Canada to shelters, foster, or adoptive homes. However, the experience urged him to be more wary of weather conditions before embarking on a rescue mission. “In hindsight, I do not think I would attempt a flight of that distance at this time of year again without a wider weather window. I’m glad the cats arrived safely in Victoria,” he told Energticcity.ca on Thursday, November 13, 2025.
Cheryl Brean, the director of communications and marketing at CWOR, spoke to the outlet about the values of the people they are associated with. “From our pilot and volunteers, to our rescue partners and the kind strangers met along the journey, we are incredibly grateful to be a part of such a giving community,” she said, expressing gratitude for the compassion and care of the people who made such missions possible. In July 2025, the charity rescued a total of 26 cats from Fort St. John to Victoria and Vancouver.