Thirty years ago on Saturday, an Air New Zealand DC-10 on a sightseeing flight to Antarctica collided with Mount Erebus, killing all 257 people on board.

Flight 901 was a popular Air New Zealand offering, attracting tourists from all over the world. The sightseeing flights departed Auckland in the morning and flew a 8 630km round trip to Antarctica. An experienced guide would point out landmarks to passengers as the aircraft flew up McMurdo Sound.

The cockpit crew for the fateful flight had never flown to Antarctica before but they were seasoned pilots and veterans of the airline.

The flight proceeded smoothly until the crew descended over what they believed was McMurdo Sound, according to the Cockpit Voice Recorder transcript.

They were in fact to the west of their intended track. Flying in local whiteout conditions - in clear air under cloud cover but with no surface definition – the pilots were unable to see Mt Erebus and at 12.49pm, the DC-10 flew into the mountain.

The bitter controversy over the accident continues today. At the time the airline blamed the pilots. A later commission of the enquiry blamed the airline for, among other things, altering a crucial navigation waypoint coordinate on the airline’s ground computer system and neglecting to inform the flight crew of the change.

A few weeks ago, with the 30th anniversary of the crash looming, Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe apologised to the families of Flight 901’s victims, saying they had not received the support they should have from the airline. “The airline made mistakes and undoubtedly let down people affected by the tragedy,” he said.

PHOTO: The DC-10’s tail fin lies in the scorched snow on the flanks of Mt Erebus, Antarctica. SOURCE: Wikipedia

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