Son of Allan G. McLean and Donelda R. Weir of Ottawa, ON. His father, Allan, was a supervisor at the Department of National War Services. He and his entire crew were killed during a flying accident, when their plane crashed shortly after taking off for a cross-country expedition. Following the accident, McLean's station commander speculated that the pilot may not have been strapped in properly and fell against the stick due to turbulence from a heavy rainstorm. This, according to the accident report, resulted in the plane taking a vertical dive.