NY Army National Guard Helicopter Crews Conduct Fire Fighting Training on May 2 Below Bear Mountain Bridge

CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, N.Y. (05/02/2019) (readMedia)-- New York Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crews based at Long Island McArthur Airport will conduct firefighting drills over the Hudson River south of the Bear Mountain Bridge on Thursday, May 2.

The training was originally set for April 18 but was rescheduled due to weather concerns.

The training will occur after 11 a.m.

The helicopter crews will use the buckets, known by the trademarked name of Bambi Bucket, to scoop up water from Hudson River and drop it back into the river. This allows them to practice the same techniques used to extinguish wildfires.

The collapsible buckets, which are hung underneath the helicopters, can dump 660 gallons of water on a fire each time they are used.

Each year as summer begins Army National Guard helicopter crew members and maintenance personnel retrain on how to attach the buckets to Black Hawk helicopters and then practice picking up water and dumping it.

The aircrews will fly UH-60s to Camp Smith Training Site and use that location has their base while conducting the exercise.

The training is necessary because a bucket full of water weights two tons and helicopter pilots need to practice flying with that additional weight hanging under their aircraft in order to fly safely in an emergency.