AC,
On a serious side, there have been a lot of bucket drops this season, most of them equipment failures, rather than pilot error. We always fly with the cargo master Off, but have had two uncommanded releases earlier this season, which we tracked down to an inherent hook fault, when NSW NPWS BK also had two identical uncommanded releases.
Anyone using a Breeze A45L or similar, beware. It is possible for it to "auto release" when the load on the hook is less than 100lb, which can happen in turbulence, or putting the bucket into the water. We have scrapped the hook (as have NPWS) and have had no further problems. Breeze no longer support the hook, ref. Service Information Letter dated 26th April 2002.