Two years ago, Kirk Gay pleaded no contest to charges of using an airplane to hunt brown bears.

When the illegal hunt took place, Gay was a member of the state Board of Game, the panel appointed to regulate and protect Alaska's wildlife. Gay turned his back on those responsibilities in order to make sure a client got his brown bear.

"On May 17, 1986, Gay went up in his Super Cub (aircraft) and returned to camp a short while later," according to court affidavits. "He said that he saw a boar with a sow just over the hill. Gay then flew (assistant guide Thomas) Cudney and (hunter and undercover game warden Don) Beach to a spot close to where the bears were sighted."

Gay flew off. Cudney and Beach stalked the bears. The sow came out of some bushes. Cudney told Beach to hold his fire. Then, according to court documents, the boar emerged, and Cudney told Beach to shoot.

Shortly afterward, Gay returned in his airplane and dropped food to the hunters. They spent the night camped out to next to the dead bear to make it appear they had abided by the law against hunting the same day airborne. Gay flew back to get them the next day.

"When they arrived at the lodge, Gay told Beach to not say anything about being airborne the same day he shot the bear. Cudney also reminded (him) . . .," according to the affidavits.

Gay was eventually fined $3,500 for aerial hunting after state Guide Board member Chuck Weir testified for the defense at sentencing. The Guide Board, with Weir abstaining, revoked Gay's guide license in April.

Gay told the Daily News he made a onetime mistake. He'd never hunted with an airplane before, he said, and did so only because of financial troubles. Making sure Beach would get a bear was good business, and Gay wanted a satisfied client.

Update 6/11/88:  An Anchorage game guide and Bush pilot died when his single engine De Havilland Beaver crashed at the Birchwood airport.

Dana Patterson , 45, owner of Alaska Peninsula Safaris, had just taken off when his plane dipped sharply to the right and down. The plane's wings were perpendicular to the ground when the right wingtip hit and the plane cartwheeled, said witness Jerry Bloomfield.

"He appeared to have no control over the aircraft at all," Bloomfield said. "I wondered why he was turning so fast. It just didn't seem right."

The crash occurred about 2 p.m. Patterson was going to fly the plane to Lake Hood, near Anchorage International Airport, where it was to be fitted with floats, Bloomfield said. Bloomfield was behind Patterson on the runway in another single engine plane and was to follow him to the lake.

Bloomfield said the Beaver lifted off the runway perfectly, but the flight went awry as the plane reached an altitude of about 100 feet. The engine seemed to be running properly.  "As soon as he lifted off, the plane turned right," Bloomfield said. "The wings came vertical to the ground."

Bloomfield brought his own plane to a halt as the Beaver cartwheeled across the runway and into another parked aircraft. Two other bystanders reached the crash before he did, though.  "I expected him to still be alive," Bloomfield said. "I've seen people walk away from cartwheels before. But the two people who got there first stopped me before I got to the plane. They said he was dead."

Bloomfield said the two had flown the aircraft to Alaska from California. The aircraft had also just undergone an annual inspection after arriving here.

Patterson had been indicted by a federal grand jury last month on charges of unlawful airborne hunting, conspiracy and violations of the Lacey Act, which forbids interstate transportation of illegally taken game. He was one of dozens of hunters and guides charged as the result of a four year investigation by federal officers.

He had pleaded innocent to the charges.

Reference:

Anchorage Daily News