The U.S. Air Force said on Tuesday that it was investigating the circumstances surrounding human remains that were found in the wheel well of one of its C-17s that flew out of Kabul amid the chaos of the Taliban taking over the Afghan capital.
Images circulated on social media earlier this week of Afghans desperate to leave Kabul rushing toward a C-17 and clinging to its side. A separate video showed what appeared to be two people falling from a military plane as it flew out of Kabul.
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In a statement, the Air Force said that a C-17 aircraft landed at Kabul’s airport on Monday and was surrounded by hundreds of Afghan civilians.
We still don’t know the names of the 4 who died falling or stuck to that C-17 leaving Kabul. RIP. pic.twitter.com/M18Pjepmzp
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) August 18, 2021
US orders probe on people falling from plane in #Kabul.#Afghanistan #Taliban #ITVideo pic.twitter.com/Q6WNYZjRUX
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) August 18, 2021
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“Faced with a rapidly deteriorating security situation around the aircraft, the C-17 crew decided to depart the airfield as quickly as possible,” the statement said.
Human body parts were found in the wheel well of an American military C-17 cargo plane that took off amid chaos at the international airport in Kabul on Monday, the U.S. Air Force acknowledged, adding that the incident is under investigation. https://t.co/B59Y6YfGeg
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 18, 2021
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It added that the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigation was reviewing information about the aircraft and the “loss of civilian lives- to include video documentation and the source of social media posts.”
I tell you as a USAF airlift pilot, the C-17 crew in Kabul surrounded by the crowd on the runway had a real moral and operational dilemma. The aircraft commander made a gutsy decision. Evacuate 640 Afghans with people climbing on the fuselage or be surrounded and fail. Great call
— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) August 17, 2021
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