Still soaring: Air Force pilot amputee's amazing journey brings her to Cd'A

The red and yellow flaming sunset poured into the palm tree-framed, tepid waters on a warm Florida evening, creating a postcard scene we can only dream about in North Idaho during early spring.

Always ready for adventure, Christy Kinsey and a fellow U.S. Air Force rescue pilot couldn’t refuse the invite nature offered, so they slipped their paddleboards into the brackish bath. Gliding into the darkness for a peaceful little trek in the “no wake” protected bay, an area where Kinsey had never seen boat traffic, they were all set for a relaxing float.

Having paddled in the protected cove maybe “a hundred times,” the champion athlete was well prepared, bringing headlamps for the nighttime dip into tranquility. Laying on her back, staring at the amazing show of stars, something caught Kinsey’s attention — three lights heading their way. Sensing danger, she realized the illumination was from a boat. Kinsey broadly waved her lamp to get the skipper’s attention, but undeterred, the lights charged directly at her. Concluding a collision was imminent, Kinsey jumped from her board into the water. Then it happened.

Struck first in her shoulder, Kinsey reacted quickly by shoving off the boat’s hull. Her instinct paid off, as the big prop would have most certainly ripped her apart in her midsection if she hadn’t pushed and swam for deeper water. But the crisis was far from over.

The boat’s fast-moving propeller tore into Kinsey’s right leg, severing the femoral artery. Unable to identify the boat or the occupants, Kinsey remembers music blaring from the boat as it sped away, leaving her in a red pool. Her body would lose 65 percent of its blood in the next three minutes.

Her companion used his shirt as a tourniquet to moderate the bleeding, then a couple in a nearby fishing boat provided more first aid by tightening it with a fishing net handle, slowing the blood flow until paramedics arrived. The weather was too low for a helicopter to land, so Kinsey endured a torturous, 45-minute ambulance ride to a trauma center in Pensacola. Although initially there was no pain, it kicked in with a vengeance during the trip. Despite her pleas, the medics insisted she needed to be lucid to fight through without pain-killing meds in an effort to save her leg.

At the hospital, the surgeon’s face revealed what Kinsey probably already knew — her leg was damaged far beyond repair and would require amputation.

Kinsey says she was not sad she lost her leg, but grateful she didn’t lose her life. She also realized this life-changing event could actually result in something good in her future.

Her right leg was removed above the knee and Kinsey would spend the next eight months in extensive physical therapy at the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio, Texas. While recovering — just nine weeks after the accident — she was selected for the Air Force team in the Department of Defense Warrior Games, winning 11 medals.

The next life phase was critical — Kinsey would accept nothing less than returning to duty and getting back to flight status. Steps included passing the Air Force fitness test, re-qualifying on flight simulators, and convincing the medical board she could perform all pilot tasks. A little more than a year after the accident, Kinsey returned to active duty, becoming the sixth amputee — and the first female — to return to flying for the Air Force after losing a limb.

As gratitude for all the help she received during her recovery process, Kinsey became proactive to assist other amputees. On the sports side, she competed with Team USA in the International Invictus Games. Even more importantly, she openly shared her story with both military members and civilians, giving credit to her Air Force family. Wanting to give back, Kinsey started a nonprofit for amputee children in Haiti, leading two teams there to deliver prostheses, repair existing ones and provide occupational therapy. The organization’s first fundraiser was in August 2015 — held on the same spot of the accident.

Kinsey was awarded the Wilma Vaught Leadership Award and Parker Greene Volunteer Award for her courage, determination to return to duty, and her willingness to help others. Although COVID and civil unrest have slowed efforts in the country, Kinsey’s foundation, “One Leg Up on Life,” continues to send equipment and funding to Haiti. See more at: http://www.oneleguponlife.org

Now a Major and Command Pilot at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado, Kinsey flies the giant C-130 Hercules and teaches cadets of the Air Force Academy’s flying team in the T-51. In downtime, she hikes, skis, scuba dives, bikes, rides motorcycles, camps and skydives, despite the challenges, and aches and pains from her prosthesis. She has a commitment of six-and-a-half more years with the military.

Kinsey met U.S. Army pilot Michael Kinsey in 2016 and they were married last November. Michael served for eight years and now is an aerial firefighter, piloting a Twin Commander airplane in Coeur d’Alene during fire season.

Sharing a love of aviation, Kinsey and Michael explored their options for the future, concluding, after seaplane training classes in Louisiana, their dream jobs would include aircraft capable of both land and water operations. Adding the excitement of aerial fire fighting, the couple came up with a plan to log the hundreds of seaplane hours required to pilot the granddaddy of water bombers — the CL-415 Super Scooper. To materialize their plan, they sold property in Colorado, using the funds as a down payment to buy their own seaplane.

By luck, the seaplane meeting their needs happened to be at the Coeur d’Alene Airport, and it was for sale. The bright yellow Top Cub two-place amphibious airplane performs well and carries a big load, critical in the high mountains of Colorado. Kinsey laments they considered an ocean cruise for their first wedding anniversary, but that the Cub is a much better fit for them.

Over the past two weeks, Kinsey and Michael have been flying the skies and splashing the waters of Lake Coeur d’Alene, the Chain Lakes and Hayden Lake to meet the training required by their insurance company. Both report loving the beauty of our area, dining in some great restaurants and meeting some very nice people. The only downside was the occasional mayhem at the Coeur d’Alene airport caused by recent high traffic issues. Lack of notification to pilots of changes in the radio frequencies created some very close calls with other aircraft in the pattern.

Early last Sunday morning, Kinsey and Michael loaded their new plane — with a spare prosthetic leg in the float compartment — and winged over Hayden Lake to begin their first flight together. With a few stops along the way for fuel, rest and to enjoy the awe-inspiring mountainous scenery, the Kinseys tucked their new plane away in a Colorado hangar Tuesday, after a long journey (Piper Cubs are not known for their speed). Although the Centennial State only offers a couple of lakes legally open for seaplanes, trips back to North Idaho are on the bucket list for the future.

Mike Kincaid of Hayden is a seaplane instructor, former FAA designated examiner, retired Alaska trooper, writer for aviation magazines and author of books about Alaska Adventures and flight instruction.