Throwback: Day desperate Afghans clung to US military plane during 2021 Taliban takeover

Throwback: Day desperate Afghans clung to US military plane during 2021 Taliban takeover [Courtesy/NYT]

In August 2021, as Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, thousands of desperate civilians flooded Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport in a frantic attempt to leave the country.

The rapid collapse of the Afghan government triggered widespread panic, with civilians breaking through security barriers and surging onto the tarmac as Western nations scrambled to evacuate their citizens and Afghan allies.

Amid the chaos, hundreds of people surrounded a moving US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft. Some ran alongside the giant cargo plane while others attempted to cling to its fuselage and wheel wells as it accelerated down the runway.

The desperate attempt to escape ended in tragedy shortly after the aircraft took off.

Eyewitness footage reviewed by TNX Africa showed at least two people falling from the aircraft to their deaths moments after takeoff.

When the C-17 landed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, military personnel also discovered human remains inside the aircraft’s wheel well.

Among those who died was 19-year-old Zaki Anwari, a promising footballer who played for Afghanistan’s national youth team.

Sports officials said Anwari had rushed to the airport out of fear that the Taliban’s return would end his sporting ambitions and personal freedom.

Following a 10-month investigation by the US Air Force Office of Special Investigations, military authorities cleared the flight crew of wrongdoing.

According to the BBC, the inquiry found that the crew acted appropriately and followed established flight procedures, military rules of engagement and international law.

Air Force officials said the crew faced an unprecedented and highly stressful situation, with limited ground support and a rapidly deteriorating security environment that threatened the aircraft and those on board.

Military officials expressed sympathy for the families of those who died but defended the crew’s decisions, praising their composure and judgment under extreme pressure.

All crew members involved in the departure were ultimately cleared and returned to regular flight duties.