Investigators cleared the Air Force crew of wrongdoing on the infamous C-17 that was surrounded by Afghan civilians as it took off from Kabul following the collapse of the Afghan government.
As the Taliban overthrew the United States-backed Ghani government in Afghanistan in mid-August, the U.S. and other Western allies began evacuating third-country nationals and at-risk Afghans. On Aug. 16, with the Taliban in control, videos emerged from Hamid Karzai International Airport showing evacuation flights taking off as civilians surrounded the runway, some of whom attempted to hang on to the plane and then fell from airborne aircraft.
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A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III landed at the airport to deliver equipment to support the evacuation efforts, but before the crew could offload the cargo, the aircraft was surrounded by hundreds of Afghan civilians who had breached the airport perimeter. The crew then decided to take off from the airfield, facing a “deteriorating situation,” Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in a statement the next day. A body was found in the wheel well of the aircraft after it landed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
“The Staff Judge Advocate offices from both Air Mobility Command and United States Central Command conducted a review of the inquiry findings and rendered concurring opinions that the aircrew was in compliance with applicable rules of engagement specific to the event and the overall law of armed conflict,” she told the Washington Examiner on Monday.
“Upon landing at [Al Udeid], [the Office of Special Investigations] processed and documented the aircraft and remains and released the scene to host nation police, who declined further investigation,” she added. “The aircrew’s operational leadership also reviewed the details of the mission and concluded that the aircrew had acted appropriately and exercised sound judgment in their decision to get airborne as quickly as possible when faced with an unprecedented and rapidly deteriorating security situation. The aircrew’s airmanship and quick thinking ensured the safety of the crew and their aircraft.”
The U.S. military and its allies spent their final two weeks in Afghanistan evacuating more than 100,000 people from the country, though hundreds of U.S. citizens and thousands of U.S. allies were left behind.
In October, the Air Force published a statement that included details of the hectic tarmac situation.
“Families and spouses watched with the rest of the world, as the iconic video of a C-17 took off among a swarm of desperate Afghans who resorted to holding on to the outside and wheel chamber of the departing airplane,” said the statement, which also noted an attempted hijacking that was later denied. “Not caught on video and less than a minute later, both HC-130J Combat King II took off on a sliver of remaining runway. With seconds to spare, they were airborne skimming just 10 feet above the crowd.”
“This was a tragic event and our hearts go out to the families of the deceased,” Stefanek added.
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Days later, 13 U.S. service members and roughly 170 civilians were killed when an operative for ISIS-K, the Afghanistan affiliate of the Islamic State, detonated a suicide bomb outside the airport gates. With the threat of further attacks high, the U.S. was on high alert and thwarted one attack but also launched a drone strike that targeted a civilian.
Zemari Ahmadi, an aid worker, was the target of the erroneous drone strike that the Pentagon has since admitted was a mistake. He was killed, as were nine children, some of whom were his own. The department has said it wants to evacuate his remaining family members, but that has yet to happen roughly 10 months later, and it later confirmed that no military personnel involved with the strike will be punished.
