A 41-year-old Trapper Creek man remained hospitalized in critical condition Friday morning after he was hit on the head by the float of a plane taking off from the Mulchatna River on Wednesday.
Travis Finkenbinder was in an 18-foot skiff ferrying gear for a private lodge owned by McKinley Capital Management LLC when the accident occurred, Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said Friday. Finkenbinder and another man were being ferried to different fishing areas by two de Havilland DHC-2 Beavers.
One of the planes took off near Finkenbinder's skiff but a down draft caused it to lose altitude, troopers say. That's when one of the plane's floats struck Finkenbinder's head.
Pilot Benjamin Hancock, 34, of Anchorage realized he hit something and landed, only to see the skiff running in circles on the water, Ipsen said. It was "more than likely" Finkenbinder was unconscious at the time. Hancock used one of the plane's floats to stop the skiff.
Meanwhile, the other pilot in the area landed as well and the two provided medical aid to the injured man, she said. They used the undamaged Beaver to fly Finkenbinder to King Salmon for more treatment; from there, he was flown to Providence Alaska Medical Center in what troopers described as "critical but stable" condition.
A Providence spokeswoman said Finkenbinder was in critical condition Friday.
The pilot involved is "pretty devastated" about what happened, Ipsen said. "These guys know each other."
The incident occurred on the Mulchatna near the Stuyahok River. The Mulchatna is a popular floatfishing destination that flows into the Nushagak River about 60 miles northeast of Dillingham.
McKinley Capital was founded by Bob Gillam, an Anchorage financier and vocal opponent of the Pebble Mine, proposed for a tributary of the Mulchatna.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Reach Zaz Hollander at zhollander@adn.com or 257-4317.