Boeing C-17 Globemaster carries 800 people out of Afghanistan in one flight

As the situation continues to worsen in Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans are doing whatever they can to escape the country since it fell to the Taliban in the past week. 

Many have headed to the airport, hoping to find a way out.

One aircraft that will play a key role in getting as many people out of Kabul as possible in as short an amount of time is the Boeing C-17 Globemaster.

It has been reported overnight that a C-17 operated by the US Air Force managed to take off from Kabul with as many as 800 people onboard. They were all flown to an air base in Qatar.

An image shared on social media appears to show hundreds of people packed into a C-17 cargo bay. It's not the first time the aircraft has been used in a mass evacuation - it was used to rescue 670 people from Tacloban during Super Typhoon Haiyan in 201.

A recording believed to be between military commanders and crew onboard the C-17 has been posted online, with military personnel clearly surprised as to how many people had been squeezed onto the C-17.

"800 People on your jet? Holy. Holy cow," they respond after crews inform them of how many people are onboard.

A video posted by an aviation enthusiast on YouTube shows you just how powerful this aircraft can be. Taking off within a much shorter distance than many of a similar size.

Images posted on social media in the past 24 hours show hundreds of people attempting to climb onto aircraft as they begin their takeoff roll down the runway. While most fall off well before the aircraft leaves the ground, some manage to hang on, only to fall to their deaths once the aircraft gains altitude.

New Zealand has plans to send one Hercules aircraft to Kabul to rescue those who helped Kiwi forces during their deployment in Afghanistan.