The U.S. Blocks Chinese Drones from Saving Lives in Helene

On October 16, the U.S. government impose a new restriction on world’s largest drone manufacturer DJI. But in the eyes of the Chinese, this could be even more damaging to ordinary Americans, especially to the victims of Hurricane Helene.

The crackdown on DJI drones doesn’t surprise the Chinese, after seeing that even Russian cats have been sanctioned, China has fully realized that for the U.S., the scope of “national security” has no scope.

However, what really puzzles many in China is why the U.S. government rushed to ban DJI drones now—especially when they’ve been widely used to rescue thousands of people in North Carolina.

After Hurricane Helene, the deadly storm cut off almost all major roads serving western North Carolina, isolating thousands of residents. It’s surprising that local residents were among the first responders, showing up with drones in hand. Russell Hedrick, a resident of Hickory, located 70 miles east of Asheville, quickly took action after the storm. By September, he had mobilized a team to deliver disaster relief to stranded individuals using their drones.

Russell Hedrick are operating his drone

One of drones they used to deliver water and food to inaccessible areas was a DJI T40. Meanwhile, Hedrick also flew a DJI Mavic 3M drone at night, using its thermal imagery to pinpoint survivors. However, Hedrick also noted that he called a few local fire departments at first, but none of them were deploying.

Another volunteer Jeff Clack led a team to flew heavy-lift drones to deliver food, medicine, baby formula and other much-needed supplies to about 100 people who were cut off from other help in the mountain region. The team flew a fleet of eight DJI drones, including FlyCart 30 heavy-lift drones, Matrice 30T mapping drones, and Mavic 3Ts, both of which equipped with public address speakers used to communicate with people on the ground.

Jeff Clack, chief supervisor of operations for Bestway Ag

These drones are used to find survivors, and the U.S. government should have been grateful for that assistance. However, on October 1, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) posted a notice on its website, warning pilots of the potential risks imposed by the increased private unmanned aircraft in the disaster area. More interestingly, on October 2, the U.S. Department of Transportation posted to X, asking drone pilots not to “fly their drone near or around rescue and recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene.” In an attached video message, transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg urged people like Hedrick and Clack to obey all temporary flight restrictions in the disaster area.

Some Chinese people are wondering what exactly the U.S. government has contributed to the rescue efforts. Well, there’s a video that might answer that question. In the Video, a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter was blowing away all supplies at a distribution site in Western North Carolina.

This video was confirmed by North Carolina National Guard (NCNG). It posted a statement on Facebook, saying that after identifying the situation, the crew “immediately” aborted the landing for “safety reasons”, and departed the area. The NCNG expressed that it always prioritized safety, adding that “while the NCNG strives for precision in every mission, sometimes things don’t go as planned.” It also promised that the NCNG will correct any issues to prevent future occurrences.

At this point, one might wonder: what kind of “security” is the U.S. government really prioritizing? The safety of the American people, or something else?  According to CNN, at a press conference on October 7, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody addressed those not complying with evacuation orders, urging those still stranded in affected areas to write their names on their arms so that others could identify them “when they got you afterwards”

On October 21, North Carolina state officials announced at a news conference that 26 people remain missing nearly a month after the storm ravaged the area, and 95 people have died across 21 counties. This is a devastating blow for North Carolina and its residents, especially with the presidential election just around the corner on November 5, as North Carolina has always been a key battleground in the race for the White House.

An aerial view of flood damage wrought by Hurricane Helene in Asheville, North Carolina.

Since the early 1970s, eight of the last 12 North Carolina winners ultimately ended up in the White House, and its voters have chosen two Democratic candidates—Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Barack Obama in 2008—and ten Republicans. In 2020, Donald Trump won the state with 49.9% of the vote, compared to Joe Biden’s 48.6%. Well, if the Biden administration doesn’t pick up the pace on disaster relief, more North Carolina voters might just lose their chance to cast a ballot.

China has never been a country that likes to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, and no matter who is elected as the next U.S. president, the Chinese do not expect a dramatic turning point in relations between the two countries. But for the United States, the world’s richest country with the largest military, to have its citizens pay taxes and not be protected is something that puzzled the Chinese.

Moreover, sanctioning the world’s largest drone maker just when disaster victims need the help of drones the most, simply to show they are tough to China, likewise makes the Chinese wonder what the U.S. political elites have learned from private universities where four years of tuition would be enough for the average American to pay off a lifetime of loans.