Department Of Transportation Orders Citizens To Stop Using Drones To Help With Hurricane Helene Rescue Efforts

By Daily Caller News Foundation
Department Of Transportation Orders Citizens To Stop Using Drones To Help With Hurricane Helene Rescue Efforts
Pete Buttigieg (Image: YouTube screen grab)

By John Oyewale

The U.S. Department of Transportation warned against the use of drones Wednesday amid ongoing post-Hurricane Helene rescue efforts.

“Drone pilots: Do not fly your drone near or around rescue and recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene,” a statement from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) begins.

Drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have many benefits.

They can be invaluable in providing post-disaster relief. They can be flown into debris and narrow spaces in collapsed buildings, as well as areas partially submerged in floodwaters, where humans cannot directly go themselves. Drones also harvest information and create maps for rescue teams on the ground, according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

“They’re using drones to FIND SURVIVORS,” comedian Chad Prather posted.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg argued that UAVs could interfere with emergency response operations. “Our goal is to make sure that funding is no obstacle to very quickly getting people the relief and the need that they deserve,” Buttigieg said. “There’s [sic] also some safety issues that come up. For example, temporary flight restrictions to make sure that the airspace is clear for any flights or drone activity that might be involved in helping to allow those emergency responders to do their job.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also shared maps of restricted zones and warned that flying drones into the zones could attract fines or criminal prosecution. (RELATED: Bureaucrat Allegedly Threatens To Arrest Helicopter Pilot For Flying Unauthorized Rescue Flights In North Carolina)

The statements sparked some backlash online, with several posts telling people, “Do not comply.”

“Pete doesn’t want you to help fellow Americans,” one Twitter user commented.

“Pete doesn’t want you to see how much help people are not getting. Let’s be real honest here,” another comment partly reads.

Russell Hedrick, a Hickory, North Carolina-based farmer, posted a video of a drone lifting what appeared to be supplies over a washed-out road to a mountainside home. Thanking SpaceX founder and Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk for providing Starlink internet connectivity, Hedrick said in part, “Isolation is hard, isolation in a disaster is something that’s hard to describe.”

The University of South Carolina baseball team meteorologist Chris Jackson shared a video of a Sep. 30 map of helicopter traffic in western North Carolinian skies. “Also one huge thing to note here. Most of these helicopters are civilian,” he wrote, adding that he wanted to acknowledge civilians for assisting the federal government that is “doing their fare [sic] share”.

Several individuals involved in civilian rescue operations — including veteran Tim Kennedy of the humanitarian organization Save Our Allies and Republican Florida Rep. Cory Mills — alleged that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and President Joe Biden’s aerial tour of Helene-ravaged North Carolina hindered their efforts in various ways, according to FOX Business reporter Dagen McDowell. (RELATED: Secret Service Repeatedly Rejected Offers To Use Drones At Deadly Trump Rally, Whistleblower Says)

 

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