It was the worst air disaster in the country’s history, and the loss of life was devastating. The news of the crash stunned New Zealand and the world. The aircraft crashed into the side of the mountain, killing all on board. The pilots were unaware of their mistake until it was too late. They believed they were flying over McMurdo Sound, but in reality, they were over Ross Island, heading straight towards Mount Erebus. The CrashĪs the aircraft approached Antarctica, the pilots made a critical mistake in their navigation, deviating from the intended flight path. On that fateful day, 237 passengers and 20 crew members boarded the DC-10 aircraft, which had been specially modified for the Antarctic tour. The flight was a popular tourist attraction, and the airline had been operating similar flights for several years without incident. Mount Erebus SceneĪir New Zealand Flight 901 was a sightseeing tour of Antarctica, departing from Auckland and making several stops before reaching the southernmost continent. In this article, we will explore the events leading up to the crash, the aftermath, and the lessons learned from the tragedy. The tragedy was a shock not only to the people of New Zealand but also to the world, as it was one of the deadliest aviation accidents in history at that time. See INVESTIGATION Captain Vette’s Research to understand his contribution to the story.On November 28th, 1979, Air New Zealand Flight 901, also known as the “ Mount Erebus disaster,” crashed into the side of Mount Erebus on Antarctica, killing all 257 (237 passengers 20 crew) people on board. His research was heralded internationally as ground-breaking: it played a pivotal role in understanding the causes of the accident and, more importantly, in preventing recurrences. These include the Chippindale Report (the official accident investigation report) the so called Mahon Report (the official report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry) and the Legal Process, a discussion of the decisions made in the High Court and Privy Council concerning the activities of Justice Mahon during the royal commission.ĭuring the course of the investigation, Air New Zealand’s Captain Gordon Vette went to extraordinary lengths to gain an understanding of, and explain to others, the sector white-out phenomenon. In the INVESTIGATION section, a summary of the development of accident-investigation methods is presented ( History of Accident Investigation) followed by the key elements in the long and acrimonious process of apportioning responsibility for the accident. When the search and rescue effort in Antarctica ended on 10 December 1979, the accident investigation was only just beginning. The only published transcript of voice data from TE901 is presented in THE ACCIDENT, Transcript. For an explanation of how and what was changed, refer to BACKGROUND, Flight Path. The plan loaded into the aircraft’s flight management computer was not that on which the flight crew had been briefed 19 days earlier, but no one had told them. For information on the DC-10, see BACKGROUND, McDonnell Douglas DC-10.Īt the heart of much of the eventual controversy surrounding the causes of the accident were changes made to the flight plan of TE901. During the 1970s, several high-fatality and high-profile DC-10 crashes meant that, when ZK-NZP went down in Antarctica, immediate suspicion was laid on the aircraft. Integral to the ability of Air New Zealand to provide the Antarctic flights was their new long-range aircraft, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. To gain an understanding of the climate within which the flights took place, see BACKGROUND, Antarctic Experience. Interest in the Antarctic had been particularly strong amongst the scientific community since the late 1950s, but only a small number of privileged people had experienced the wonders of the icy south. If the details of the Erebus tragedy are new to you, it is our hope that the information presented on this website will enable you to understand the sequence of events, and the context within which they occurred.Īntarctic overflights were a new and exciting breakthrough in airborne tourism. Captain Vette Receives an IFALPA Presidential.Studying the Effects of the Recovery Operation.U.S Policy Regarding Aviation in Antarctica, 1968.Marketing Antarctica - Expert Commentators.
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