CHANGE TO: NY National Guard helicopter crews rehearse firefighting drills below Bear Mountain Bridge

Training exercise that was scheduled for today has been canceled due to poor weather conditions

CAMP SMITH, NY (04/18/2019) (readMedia)-- New York Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crews based at Long Island McArthur Airport are canceling water bucket training over the Hudson River just south of the Bear Mountain Bridge that was supposed to take place today, April 18, due to bad weather.

The training will be rescheduled for Friday, April 19, if weather conditions permit.

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 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.