‘IN COMPLIANCE’

Plane Crew Cleared After Taking Off as Afghans Clung On During Withdrawal

The U.S. military launched an investigation into the flight after human remains were found in the aircraft’s wheel well.

The U.S. Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations on Monday said there would be no disciplinary action taken against the crew that operated a C-17 military cargo aircraft that took off from Kabul last year with a number of Afghans hanging desperately onto the outside of the plane, some of whom fell to their deaths. The military launched an investigation into the flight, which was part of the final stages of the harried withdrawal from Afghanistan last August, when human remains were later discovered in the plane’s wheel well. It remains unclear how many civilians died during the Aug. 16 takeoff. The crew, according to Military.com, was found by investigators to have been working “during an unprecedented evacuation where resources were constrained to on-going security and evacuation activities.” The inquiry concluded the crew had been “in compliance with applicable rules of engagement,” according to an OSI spokesperson. “This was a tragic event and our hearts go out to the families of the deceased,” an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement to Military.com, noting that operational leadership had agreed with the review’s findings.