Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth overrode a military safety review Friday, reinstating eight Apache helicopter pilots suspended for flying “very low” over packed South Carolina beaches on the Fourth of July.
“Effective immediately, the suspension of all involved South Carolina pilots has been lifted,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell posted on X Friday morning.
The pilots fly with the 1-151st Attack Battalion at McEntire Joint National Guard Base near Columbia. The formation flew over the Cherry Grove Pier during the annual Salute from the Shore event, according to MyHorryNews, as thousands of beachgoers watched.
The South Carolina Army National Guard suspended all eight pilots pending a safety review. WMBF reported officials said the suspension was “not punitive.”
“A temporary suspension from flight duties is a routine administrative measure whenever a flight profile is under review,” said Maj. Lisa Alle of the South Carolina Army National Guard.
“We’ll fix this. Carry on, Patriots,” Hegseth wrote on X Thursday night, hours before Parnell announced the suspensions were lifted.
It’s not the first time flyovers have raised safety concerns under Hegseth, the military news outlet Task & Purpose reported. In March, Apache pilots from the 101st Airborne Division were grounded after buzzing the Tennessee home of singer Kid Rock. Hegseth tweeted the same “Carry on, Patriots” and shut down that inquiry too.
Task & Purpose noted that an Air Force helicopter visit to a Japanese elementary school in 2025 killed a woman and injured children after crews followed the wrong safety rules.
But Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) argued on X that the pilots “should be celebrated, not sanctioned.”
“This is the DOD rewarding military service members for engaging in waste, fraud, and abuse,” Project Liberal president Joshua Reed Eakle wrote on X.
“I’m sure this isn’t the last shoe to drop regarding this issue…” Fox News anchor John Roberts wrote on X.