LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas National Guard and state parks officials notified the public Friday that a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter will be flown Saturday morning at Pinnacle Mountain as part of an Arkansas National Guard training exercise.
Lt. Col. Keith Moore, public affairs officer with the Arkansas National Guard, said the exercise will occur from 10 to 11.
Hikers who are planning to hike the trails at Pinnacle Mountain will still be allowed to do what they normally would during the training exercise, Moore said.
"We will have some safety considerations and advisories set up," he said. "This is a perfect opportunity for people to see their hometown heroes up close and personal."
The Army National Guard has done this exercise at Pinnacle Mountain before, but Moore said it hasn't been during a time when lots of people will be out and about.
"We usually do it in the winter months," he said.
Moore said in a statement that Army National Guard helicopter crews will be training to gain experience and develop expertise in the "dynamics of mountainside rescue," such as hovering the aircraft and hoisting injured people from remote locations against wind updrafts.