Video shows an “inflatable decoy plane” at the Kabul airport in 2021.
Stand up for the facts!
Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.
I would like to contribute
In this Aug. 16, 2021 photo, hundreds of people run alongside a moving U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at the Kabul, Afghanistan, international airport. (AP)
Cargo plane that evacuated people from Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2021 is real, not a decoy
If Your Time is short
- A cargo plane captured on video at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, as U.S. military personnel evacuated people from the country is real.
In August 2021, hundreds of people desperate to be evacuated from Afghanistan ran alongside a moving U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane at the international airport in Kabul as the Taliban took control there.
A recent Facebook post rehashes an old unfounded conspiracy theory that the plane was fake.
In the video, the narrator points out how the windows and plane engines appear "blacked out."
"This is what a C-17 that’s not an inflatable looks like," the person says. "See the windows clearly. See the engines clearly."
An image of the aircraft appears with the label: "Inflatable decoy plane."
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
But there’s no evidence to support this claim.
This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
Featured Fact-check
The footage of people running alongside the plane and clinging to it was shared Aug. 16, 2021, on X by an Afghan journalist. News outlets such as The Washington Post picked it up and published it.
Air Force officials have said the plane is real, and from the 62nd Airlift Wing at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.
Further evidence that the plane is real: Human remains were discovered in the plane’s wheel well after the plane’s crew struggled to close the landing gear. The U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations investigated the incident and determined the crew "acted appropriately" under the circumstances, The Hill reported. The office released the remains to local police.
We rate claims that this plane was an inflatable decoy False.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Oct. 8, 2023
The Washington Post, Air Force clears crew that flew with Afghan remains in C-17 wheel well, June 13, 2022
The Washington Post, Scenes of deadly chaos unfold at Kabul airport after Taliban’s return, Aug. 16, 2021
BBC News, C-17: The US military plane carrying Afghans to safety, Aug. 22, 2021
Tweet, Aug. 16, 2021
USA Today, Fact check: US C-17 plane swarmed by Afghans in video was real, not inflatable in 'false flag' operation, Aug. 20, 2021
PolitiFact, No evidence that US Air Force plane evacuating Afghanistan airport was fake, Aug. 27, 2021
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
Cargo plane that evacuated people from Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2021 is real, not a decoy
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.