The suspensions of eight Apache pilots who flew low over the South Carolina coast on July Fourth have been lifted Friday, in keeping with the South Carolina Nationwide Guard, simply hours after Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth publicly known as for the reversal.
The Apache assault helicopters have been flying in South Carolina’s annual “Salute from the Shore” occasion — which flies from Myrtle Seaside, South Carolina, to Beaufort, North Carolina, alongside the coast on the Fourth of July — when video footage posted on-line appeared to indicate the pilots flying low over a crowded shoreline. The pilots are members of the South Carolina Nationwide Guard’s Alpha 1-151 Assault Battalion.
Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth, with White Home Deputy Chief of Workers Stephen Miller and U.S. appearing Legal professional Common Todd Blanche delivers remarks at an occasion with Nationwide Guard troopers at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, July 2, 2026.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
The eight pilots concerned have been briefly suspended shortly after the flight, Maj. Lisa Allen, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Nationwide Guard, confirmed on Thursday to ABC affiliate WPDE in Florence, South Carolina. What prompted the suspension is unclear.
The Guard clarified in a Thursday press launch that the motion was a “routine administrative measure at any time when a flight profile is beneath assessment” and that the troopers have been nonetheless collaborating in “common every day duties in a non-flying capability” — emphasizing in a put up on X that it was “not a disciplinary motion.” Allen confirmed on Friday that the assessment was now full.
Low-altitude flying carries inherent dangers, together with the potential for particles to scatter on the bottom and fewer time for pilots to reply to emergencies.
Because the video of their flyover circulated on social media, stories of the suspension drew nationwide scrutiny and prompted backlash from state and federal lawmakers.
Republican Rep. Russell Fry of South Carolina known as for the Nationwide Guard to “drop this assessment and restore these pilots instantly” in a Thursday morning put up on X, saying the pilots “needs to be celebrated, not sanctioned.” Fry additionally penned a letter to the South Carolina Nationwide Guard, the place he decried the suspension as a “misguided resolution and a misuse of assets.”
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, additionally criticized the suspension.
“Certainly, they know easy methods to safely navigate the coast of South Carolina — and her scores of cheering residents and vacationers on our 250th anniversary,” McMaster wrote on X.
Hegseth weighed in on Thursday night, promising to “repair” the suspension in response to a video of the flyover posted on X.
“We’ll repair this. Keep it up, Patriots,” Hegseth wrote.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell echoed Hegseth in his Friday announcement lifting the suspension, writing on X that “Efficient instantly, the suspension of all concerned South Carolina pilots has been lifted. Keep it up Patriots.”
Allen additionally introduced in a press launch that the suspension was lifted, including that “The South Carolina Nationwide Guard appreciates the outpouring of concern and help from our neighborhood and state leaders.”
It’s not the primary time that Hegseth has intervened on behalf of suspended Apache pilots. In late March, two Apache helicopters have been flagged by the Military for flying low and hovering near Kid Rock’s Nashville house. Their suspension was rolled back simply hours after it was introduced, and Hegseth shortly took credit score.
“Pilots suspension LIFTED. No punishment. No investigation. Keep it up, patriots,” he posted on X on the time.
Apaches are the Military’s main assault helicopter, being totally built-in into the drive within the Nineteen Eighties and seeing their fight debut through the U.S. invasion of Panama. They continued to be closely used within the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and are at present deployed within the conflict with Iran.
