當地時間2021年8月16日,阿富汗喀布爾,美軍士兵持槍在機場警戒,周圍都是逃難的阿富汗人 圖源:東方IC
此前,一段機組人員的音頻在網上傳開,錄音稱估計機上大約有800名乘客。這名機組人員問到:「你覺得你的飛機上有多少人?」在收到RCH871飛機的回覆後,他驚訝地說:「你的飛機上有800人!?我的天啊……好吧……」但據《獨立報》援引一位國防官員的話稱,「當飛機抵達目的地時,大約有640名阿富汗平民下機。」… a defence official told military news site Defense One, which obtained the image. "Approximately 640 Afghan civilians disembarked the aircraft when it arrived at its destination."即便經國防官員證實的數字低於800人,但也已經大大超過了飛機額定的載客量。美國「動力」網站在報導中援引波音公司的說法,C-17運輸機的官方載客量是134人,即「8個託盤上乘坐80名乘客,加上側壁的座位上乘坐54名乘客」。According to Boeing, a C-17's passenger carrying capacity is officially 134 paratroopers, "80 on 8 pallets, plus 54 passengers on sidewall seats."路透社援引「防務一號」報導稱,許多阿富汗人通過半開放式坡道登上飛機。這是有史以來乘坐此類飛機的乘客人數最多的一次。 Many of the Afghans climbed aboard the plane via a half-open ramp …with one of the highest number of passengers ever flown on such an aircraft, US defence and security news site Defense One reported.8月16日,商業衛星清晰記錄下喀布爾國際機場與街頭的混亂景象。
喀布爾國際機場,等待撤離的人群湧入停機坪,橫穿起飛區域,在機場唯一的跑道旁聚集。數輛美軍車輛在人群附近監視。距離美國駐阿富汗大使館約2公裡的路口發生嚴重交通堵塞,出城方向車流量更大。從美國使館到機場的幾平方公裡區域內,並未看到美軍車輛。
對於此番景象,新加坡安全分析師布萊克·赫辛格稱,美國發動戰爭20年後從阿富汗撤軍,塔利班在幾天內而非美國情報部門預測的幾個月後「捲土重來」,這些都在提醒著人們,美國撤軍為阿富汗帶來的災難性後果。…it served as a reminder of the calamitous evacuation efforts from Afghanistan after the United States withdrew its forces after 20 years of war and the Taliban swept to power in days rather than the months predicted by US intelligence.當地2021年8月16日,阿富汗喀布爾,美軍在機場警戒 圖源:澎湃影像在當地時間15日、16日兩天,美國武裝部隊關閉了哈米德·卡爾扎伊國際機場的商業航班,以確保能夠繼續疏散政府人員和美國盟友。而阿富汗平民還在等待無限期暫停的航班返回。Chaos erupted at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul on Sunday and Monday, as US armed forces shut down the airport to commercial flights to continue evacuating government personnel and US allies. … civilian Afghans wait for indefinitely suspended flights to return.此前,一架美軍機在機場的人群中滑行起飛造成人員傷亡的視頻在網上曝光後,美國國防部發言人回應稱:距離太遠不清楚。I don't have any additional information about that particular aircraft in that particular flight. It's obviously difficult from 8000 miles away to have perfect knowledge about everything that's going on the ground over there.While earlier footage showed frantic crowds attempting to cling to the hull of an American C-17 transport plane as it raced down the tarmac, at least one person is believed to have become entangled in the craft’s landing gear, according to sources cited by Politico and the Washington Post.
另有視頻顯示,一架美軍C-17運輸機在喀布爾機場起飛後,至少有2個黑影從飛機上落下。
事後有網友稱,這是有阿富汗人躲進了美軍運輸機的起落架艙,當飛機起飛收起起落架後,他們不幸掉了下來。
中國日報(ID:chinadailywx)綜合報導