Members of the State Police and Park Rangers were at the County Airport today practicing open water rescue, taking advantage of the cold weather to get some practice in winter conditions.
The practice involves a trooper and ranger taking off in the chopper and then coming back to the practice zone to pick up a practice rescuee. The purpose is to work on communication among rescuers to ensure all elements of the rescue are coordinated.
A complete sequence of pictures after the jump:
Hey Mark, is that you flying
Hey Mark, is that you flying the bird?
That has to be a little hairy
That has to be a little hairy and cold too! Looks a little windy. When I was in Aircrewman school, we did this so you'd know what to expect and so the Rescue Swimmer candidates could get some training. But that was in Pensacola, FL where it was a lot warmer and they pulled me out of the warm water instead of off ice. Quite an experience I'll bet.