Pentagon returns eight South Carolina guard pilots to duty after July 4 flyover

Hegseth publicly intervened hours before suspension was lifted

Eight South Carolina National Guard helicopter pilots have returned to flying duties after the Pentagon lifted a suspension that followed a low-level flyover of crowded beaches during a July Fourth event, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said July 10.

“Effective immediately, the suspension of all involved South Carolina pilots has been lifted,” Parnell wrote on social media. “Carry on Patriots.”

The suspension stemmed from the “Salute from the Shore,” an annual tradition since 2010 in which vintage and modern military aircraft fly along the 187-mile length of South Carolina’s shoreline to honor service members. This year’s edition included, for the first time, Apache helicopters among the participating aircraft, alongside F-16s from the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing and a C-17 from the 437th Airlift Wing.

Online images posted by beachgoers showed the Apaches flying at what appeared to be a low height directly over crowded beaches, prompting the South Carolina National Guard to launch a review and suspend the eight pilots from flying duties while it was ongoing. The Guard later described the suspension as “a routine, non-punitive safety measure, not a disciplinary action.”

Late on July 9, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on social media that the Pentagon was getting involved, writing: “We’ll fix this. Carry on, Patriots.” South Carolina Republicans also criticized the suspension. U.S. Representative Russell Fry, whose district includes the Myrtle Beach area, said the pilots “should be celebrated, not sanctioned.”

Less than two hours before Parnell’s announcement, Governor Henry McMaster, a Republican who serves as commander-in-chief of the state’s National Guard, expressed confidence in the pilots, writing on social media that guardsmen “fly in wartime” and that “surely, they know how to safely navigate the coast of South Carolina — and her scores of cheering residents and tourists on our 250th anniversary.”

Officials with McMaster’s office and the South Carolina National Guard did not return messages seeking comment on July 10, including on whether McMaster, a longtime ally of Donald Trump, had directly intervened. The Pentagon declined to comment beyond Parnell’s statement.