The U.S. Air Force is investigating the circumstances surrounding human remains found in the wheel well of C-17 cargo plane call sign REACH885, which flew out of Afghanistan’s Hamid Karzai International Airport on Tuesday, August 17.
The plane arrived into Kabul amid the chaos of the Taliban takeover of the Afghan capital, delivering equipment and supplies for U.S. forces who were securing the airport for the evacuation of Americans and Afghans, as detailed in a New York Times report.
After the plane touched down and lowered its rear ramp, hundreds or even thousands of Afghans were seen rushing toward the plane. Aware of incidents involving U.S. planes on previous days, the crew returned to the plane without fully unloading.
However, as the plane was taking off again, crowds of people climbed onto its wings and at least one person into the wheel well, where the landing gear would fold after takeoff.
As the plane taxied along the runway, two Apache helicopter gunships attempted to scare or push people away using their powerful rotor wash, according to officials cited by The New York Times.
Minutes later, the plane’s pilot and co-pilot realized its landing gear would not fully retract and sent a crew member down to look at the wheel well, where human remains were discovered, apparently crushed by the landing gear.
SOURCES: U.S. Secretary of Defense, Foreign Policy, The New York Times, Reuters, Farnaz Fassihi
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]
