Helicopter’s Bambi bucket lost in lake

Charlotte County Sheriff helicopter
Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office helicopter

When the pilot flying the Charlotte County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office helicopter began to lift off from a lake after filling the Bambi bucket with water while helping to suppress a vegetation fire on Wednesday February 27, he noticed that something was missing — the bucket. Caused by either an equipment malfunction or the pilot accidentally hitting the wrong button, the bucket detached from the helicopter and disappeared into the murky water below.

Now it is sitting on the bottom of the lake while dive teams search by feel in the near-zero visibility water. The bucket was purchased pre-owned, but a new replacement would cost about $20,000 according to Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Cameron.

More information.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

8 thoughts on “Helicopter’s Bambi bucket lost in lake”

  1. Sxxx happens, they’ll buy another one, even if I don’t understand why a bucket is so expensive. Helicopters are a big loss, but a bucket, even if it’s a $20.000 bucket, Is not such a big loss 😛

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  2. SEI (Bambi folks) offer a Marine Recovery Device just for such events. Loose bucket look for a float. No divers at risk.

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    1. Thanks Johnny. SEI describes the Marine Recovery device like this:

      The Marine Recovery Device (MRD) is designed to decrease the potential for loss of Bambi Buckets® dropped over water sources. When the bucket hits the water, a float stored inside the MRD will automatically deploy to guide the recovery crew to the exact location of the submerged bucket.

      HERE is a link to the owner’s manual.

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  3. according to the local news reports, the Sheriff’s office has a 2nd bucket available, and the dive team is using on-duty personnel for the search, so they aren’t really spending much of any funds aside from fuel

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  4. So, um, how much are they going to spend to replace this tool? Looks like the search will cost more than just replacing it.

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  5. If there is a place for it to happen the dip site is it. This is due to having few people around it.

    I have seen them come off during a drop and thats a very good reason the drop zone needs to be clear of people.

    Causes vary, but in my experience it seems the more experience and pratice the pilot and hook up crew have the less the chance of a malfunction or dropped bucket.

    Had one get caught in the top of a very tall tree after being dropped along with a hundred feet of cable. Turned into a long hike in with a saw, up hill of course, Falling the tree untangling everything, finding a small clearing and using a long line to get it out the next morning.

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  6. actually the fire happened on Sunday, February 27, the pilot had made 2 drops and was picking up his third load when the bucket detached

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