NTSB: Hoist in Spin When Texas Flight Nurse Fell to Death

STAR Flight nurse Kristin McLain was in a spin when she fell to her death from a helicopter hoist last week, according to a preliminary federal report released Tuesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board's report provides more details of the tragedy that rattled McLain's colleagues and eroded their morale. A few hours after its release, STAR Flight announced it was ready to resume some of its operations Wednesday morning after a weeklong hiatus. Officials grounded all its air operations since McLain died April 27 while rescuing an injured woman from the Barton Creek Greenbelt.

Crews will only run air ambulance missions, transporting patients to local hospitals as needed, STAR Flight director Casey Ping said Tuesday during a media briefing. All search and rescue, firefighting and law enforcement-related activities will remain suspended for now, Ping said. He didn't offer a timeline for when those activities would resume.

"We are aware there is a community need and a community impact, and it does weigh heavily on us, but we have to make sure the crews are mentally ready to provide those services," Ping said.

Individual STAR Flight employees have the choice to not run any missions for the time being until they feel comfortable, Ping said.

Ping wouldn't comment on the NTSB's ongoing investigation. STAR Flight is conducting its own inquiry, which is looking at the entire scope of the department's operations, Ping said.

Flying conditions for the STAR Flight helicopter were clear and calm around the time of the rescue last week, according to the National Weather Service.

The preliminary report said the helicopter lowered a backboard to transport the injured woman. It was while the helicopter lifted McLain and the woman in a hoist that they began a "steady spin," the report said.

To stop the spin, the helicopter moved forward. The hoist operator then saw that McLain was riding in a lower position than normal, the report said.

It is unclear what might have caused the spinning, but flight paramedics interviewed by the American-Statesman on Wednesday said two things could have started it.

Richard Patterson, a flight paramedic and helicopter pilot for 20 years who has written textbooks on air rescues, said the helicopter could have entered a situation known as "settling with power," in which an air vortex will cause a hovering helicopter's tail rotor to start spinning the entire aircraft. At the same time, it can cause a sudden drop in altitude, Patterson said.

That scenario would explain why the helicopter started moving forward to mitigate the spinning and why the hoist operator saw McLain at a lower than expected altitude, Patterson said.

With forward movement, the spinning would stabilize, which appeared to be happening when McLain fell, the preliminary report said.

Former STAR Flight flight paramedic Tom Shook, a flight nurse with STAR Flight from 1999 to 2002 who now works in emergency medicine in Fresno, Calif., said another possibility is that "rotor wash" — the strong air currents that helicopters' rotating blades create under the aircraft — caused the hoist to spin.

The NTSB's full investigation could take up to 18 months to complete. In the coming months, an investigator will review and analyze information gathered in Austin last week, according to a spokesman with the federal safety board.

On Tuesday, Travis County commissioners unanimously voted in favor of possibly hiring experts to assist the NTSB investigation. They also authorized Ping to hand over any documents necessary to the investigation.

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