Air Force: Crew not at fault for Afghan deaths in evacuation
By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press - Yesterday 7:47 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force has concluded that air crew members acted appropriately and were not at fault for some tragic deaths during the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan last year, when desperate Afghans clung to a military plane as it was taking off and fell to their deaths or were caught in the wheels.
In a statement Monday, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said investigations into the deaths found that the crew “exercised sound judgment in their decision to get airborne as quickly as possible when faced with an unprecedented and rapidly deteriorating security situation."
Video and other reports from that day vividly show Afghans mobbing the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, frantic to get out of the country when the Taliban seized control and U.S. forces were withdrawing. The C-17 transport plane was surrounded as it landed on the tarmac, and military officials have said the crew feared the plane would be overwhelmed, so they decided to take off.
As the plane lifted off, mobile phone video captured two tiny dots dropping from the aircraft. It later became clear that the dots were Afghans who had tried to hide in the wheel well. As the wheels folded into the body of the plane, the stowaways faced the choice of being crushed to death or letting go and plunging to the ground.
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