A Kenyan-chartered flight received an emergency call from the US State Department after a complex terrorist attack that rocked Afghanistan, killing 13 US troops, as well as at least 170 Afghans, on August 26.
The plane from Safe Air Company, with a Kenyan registration number 5Y-IRE and aptly nicknamed Irene, was captained by Niel Steyl.
The pilot stated that it only took 40 minutes to load 308 people onto the plane that is designed to carry between a half and a third of that load.
“We received a desperate call from the US state department’s officials in Kabul after the suicide bombing attack on Thursday night asking whether we would be willing to assist with mercy flights. The urgency became critical to evacuate a group of Afghan special forces and their families. They have been assisting the US forces in the country for many years. As such, they would certainly have been killed by the Taliban as they are seen as traitors," the pilot stated.
The plane, while landing at the Hamid Karzai International Airport, was prepared to receive a very harsh reception, but the captain stated that he was received by well-dressed people who coordinated the emergency airlifting.
“We expected a haggard group but were pleasantly surprised by the well-spoken and neatly dressed group – despite them being holed up in a warehouse under trying conditions for a week. It was humbling to experience the sheer relief and appreciation from their side that we came in time to save them."
The Kenyan-chartered plane entered into the books of history following the bold move that was guided by open-source inbuilt intelligence tools including daily satellite images, flight tracking, and even a live camera feed over-watching the operation.
The Kenyan-plane further proved to the world what it was made up of by making a second trip to the war-torn area of Kabul amidst bombings. It made the second trip to rescue soldiers and their families could not fit on a single 727 flight.
On the second trip, the plane did not leave immediately as US Forces were pushing to have a departure ceremony of their 13 soldiers who were killed in a bomb explosion at the Abbey Gate.
The second trip carried 329 souls. It remains unclear whether Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) acquired the Kenyan plane for that mission.
However, Irene and her crew remain one of the heroes that risked life and limb for others during this tragic endcap to the two-decades-long war in Afghanistan.
The plane is no stranger to saving lives having undertaken similar missions around the world.
