Texas Medevac Service Shocked by Team Member`s Death, Leader Says

April 30—STAR Flight program director Casey Ping's voice wavered Wednesday as he spoke of flight nurse Kristin McLain, who died after falling from a hoist during a helicopter rescue Monday.

During a news conference at STAR Flight's headquarters on Old Manor Road, Ping described McLain as a friend and dedicated colleague who enjoyed challenges. Her death, he said, shocked the rescue team to their core.

The exact reason why McLain, 46, fell from the helicopter hoist during a rescue Monday over the Barton Creek Greenbelt is undetermined, National Transportation Safety Board air safety investigator Craig Hatch said.

That night, incident commanders decided to use a hoist to pull an injured woman from the Greenbelt after they encountered difficult terrain worsened by recent rains, Austin-Travis County EMS Chief Ernesto Rodriguez said.

McLain helped secure the woman to a hoist system and fell sometime during the rescue, Rodriguez said.

Someone found McLain near a trail in the Greenbelt and called 911, Rodriguez said.

EMS attempted resuscitation, but she died at the scene, Rodriguez said.

The NTSB is leading the investigation into McLain's death. The scope will include interviews with all personnel involved in the incident, examinations of safety equipment and the helicopter, and a look into McLain's last 72 work hours, NTSB investigator Craig Hatch said.

A preliminary report on her death will be made public in five to 10 days, Hatch said, but the full investigation could take up to a year. STAR Flight will also conduct an internal investigation, Ping said.

For the time being, STAR Flight will remain grounded, Ping said, in part due to the blow to the rescuers' confidence as they begin grieving the loss of their colleague, he said.

"There is a lot of self-doubt and self-reflection on how we are doing," Ping said. "So that's one of the reasons we have not been taking calls."

When McLain's family and friends arrived at the Travis County medical examiner's office Wednesday morning, medics and STAR Flight personnel embraced them. McLain's casket was draped in an American flag and flanked by dozens of first responders as they escorted her body from the office to a funeral home in Lakeway. Firefighters saluted as the procession passed. Nurses from St. David's Medical Center wore dark flight suits.

"She was loved deeply -- deeply -- by so many people," said Chuck Spangler, a senior pilot and safety officer for STAR Flight, who is serving as a spokesman for McLain's family.

Spangler lived near McLain and her partner, Winston Merrill, in a neighborhood on Lake Austin, where they and other STAR Flight team members would paddleboard. McLain, "a hardcore athlete," would often speed ahead, leaving an exhausted group in her wake, Spangler said.

She was strong, he said, with a tough exterior that belied her big heart and fun nature.

"She was on a very short list of people that were the highest epitome of professional," he said. "You hear the cliche a lot, that people die doing what they loved to do. That is absolutely the truth in this situation."

McLain was born in Colorado Springs in 1969, according to an obituary. She played varsity basketball through high school and earned a degree in equine science at Colorado State University.

She moved to Austin in 2008 to join STAR Flight.

"Kristin loved flying, understood the risks that went with rescue work, but followed her heart to do what she loved regardless of the possibilities so she could serve -- and save -- others," the obituary says.

A private memorial service for McLain's family, friends and colleagues is planned for Friday morning at the Hill Country Bible Church. A 10 a.m. procession from Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home in Lakeway will precede the service.

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