Messenger - Vol. 1, No. 2, Page 15 Winter 1992 State trooper flies to rescue On any given day, Robert McMahon, Delaware '75, might commute more than 100 miles in minutes, teach elementary school children or save a life. As a Delaware State Police helicopter pilot based in Georgetown, Del., McMahon frequently assists in search-and-rescue operations, transports trauma victims to regional hospitals, flies state officials to critical appointments and provides support in chasing and apprehending suspects. Educating the community on the role of the helicopter in police work is yet another aspect of his job. On June 16, 1991, McMahon and paramedic Hal Blades were involved in a water rescue of a small boy, whose raft had been caught in currents off the shore of Broadkill Beach, Del., and had drifted into the Atlantic Ocean. While responding to the call, McMahon and Blades discussed several rescue options, ultimately deciding that Blades would jump from the helicopter into the water. Blades and the child were quickly picked up by a Coast Guard vessel. Among the dangers the troopers had to consider was the possibility that the rotor wash would flip the boy and raft, McMahon explains. Also, the helicopter was not equipped to land on the water, violating a basic aviation rule that "a pilot must always have a plan on where to put the aircraft down in an emergency," McMahon says. The heroic rescue operation was reenacted for the hit television show Rescue 911. The show may air this spring. Although he entered the University as an economics major, McMahon says he developed an interest in law and police work through roundtable discussions with law enforcement professionals in a criminal justice class. Eventually, he switched his major to criminal justice. He served as a student aide for the University's public safety department, where he became a one-man campus mounted police unit, using a horse donated to the University. McMahon, who served as a Baltimore City police officer before becoming a Delaware state trooper, says flying is a family affair. His wife, Theresa Ward McMahon, Delaware '78, is also a pilot. -Skip Cook, Delaware '89