Kelly Nielson

Kelly Nielson grew up at the Sparrow Ridge Airport where her father ran the Nielson Flying School which offered hourly flying lessons in both fixed wing craft and helicopters. She had met Dave Redding while he worked for her father, and the two of them had started a relationship before Dave went to Vietnam. When he was shot down and taken prisoner Kelly had received a telegram stating that he had been killed in action. Thinking Dave was dead, Kelly moved on with her life – she lived in Chicago for a time, and even got married, but after the first six months the marriage began to fail, and although she and her husband continued on polite terms, the marriage ended after three years. Despite really wanting a family, Kelly decided against having children, realizing that “kids need a home, not just two strangers being polite to each other.”

Kelly returned to Arizona where she continued to maintain the Sparrow Ridge Airport and she was reunited with Dave, who returned from Vietnam seriously traumatized by his time as a POW. The two of them rekindled a delicate relationship which worked because they had learned to make allowances for each other.

When Terry Andrews and his three partners took over the Sparrow Ridge Airport taking Kelly, Dave and Al hostage while they waited to hijack a charter plane to escape to Mexico, Kelly complied with the thieves’ demands but was feisty enough to stand up for herself, and when MacGyver arrived, looking for directions, she sought his help by offering him a cup of coffee with the word “HELP” written inside the mug. However, the message was intercepted and MacGyver was taken in as another hostage. Although Kelly thought the situation was hopeless, she offered her cooperation as MacGyver put a plan in action to save them all and capture the criminals. Understanding  Dave’s fear of flying since his return from Vietnam, Kelly played an integral part in helping him overcome his fear and fly their helicopter to help MacGyver apprehend the criminals after which time she realized that wishes can come true and both her and Dave could begin moving forward together.