Residents in this SC city seeing drones near homes. What’s happening & what the law says
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Have you seen drones flashing through the night sky in the Conway area recently? Or, heard their small propellers whirring in the distance?
According to a social media post from Horry County Council’s District 11 representative Al Allen, several people have seen drones in recent days and he is concerned about them being near homes.
Allen wrote in his post that he’s received several calls about drone flying activity after 9 p.m. in the Jupiter Bay Area in Horry County.
But what exactly are the laws surrounding when someone can, and can’t fly their drones in Horry County? Is it illegal to shoot one down?
According to the Code of Federal Regulations, drones in South Carolina cannot fly at night, unless it’s 30 minutes after sunset or before sunrise.
During that time, which the law refers to as “civil twilight,” operators can only fly drones if they have “lighted anti-collision lighting visible for at least 3 statute miles that has a flash rate sufficient to avoid a collision,” the law says.
“Some of this activity is very concerning due to the size of the drones and them landing and taking off very close to some occupied homes,” Allen said in his post. “Horry County nor any other known entity by Horry County is conducting this activity.”
On Thursday, Jack Bell, the director for the Conway-Horry County Airport, said he hadn’t seen any drones in recent days, but had gotten calls reporting them.
Horry County’s Director of Public Information Mikayla Moskov said by text message that police were asked to look into the alleged incidents by Allen.
“Thus far, we have not directly seen the alleged activity,” her text said. “So we are still looking into it.”
Some people commented on Allen’s post that they would shoot down the drones if they saw them flying near their home.
According to federal law, it’s illegal to shoot down any aircraft in the United States, including a drone.
Consequences include losing a pilot’s license, fines and potential criminal charges, the FAA said.
Moskov said that drone use is regulated by the federal government through the FAA, and so local police cannot arrest someone for improperly using their drone.
“For local authorities to enforce via arrest, it would have to verge into other criminal territory,” she said.
According to the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, drone pilots can be fined up to $75,000 per violation. The administration said they also can suspend or revoke a pilot’s drone flying license.
“Violating the drone regulations puts lives at risk in the air and on the ground,” FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker said in a release this summer. “Flying a small drone means you are flying an aircraft, and unsafe behavior will cost you.”
In that release, the FAA said they encourage people to report unauthorized or potentially illegal drone flying activity to their local Flight Standards District Office, which oversees low-flying aircrafts, such as drones, along with a litany of other air-related regulations for the Federal Aviation Administration.
In South Carolina, that office is located in Columbia.
To make a complaint about illegal drone flying activities, the office can be reached at 803-451-2640 or on its website.
