Mount Erebus Disaster
Debris from the DC-10's fuselage photographed in 2004. Most of the wreckage of Flight 901 remains at the accident site.
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 28 November 1979 |
| Summary | Controlled flight into terrain |
| Site |
Mount Erebus, Antarctica 77°25′30″S 167°27′30″E / 77.42500°S 167.45833°ECoordinates: 77°25′30″S 167°27′30″E / 77.42500°S 167.45833°E |
| Passengers | 237 |
| Crew | 20 |
| Fatalities | 257 (all) |
| Survivors | 0 |
| Aircraft type | McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 |
| Operator | Air New Zealand |
| Registration | ZK-NZP |
| Flight origin | Auckland International Airport |
| Stopover | Christchurch International Airport |
| Destination | Auckland International Airport |
Air New Zealand Flight 901 (TE-901) was a scheduled Air New Zealand Antarctic sightseeing flight that operated between 1977 and 1979. The flight would leave Auckland Airport in the morning and spend a few hours flying over the Antarctic continent, before returning to Auckland in the evening via Christchurch. On 28 November 1979, the fourteenth flight of TE-901, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, registration ZK-NZP, flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica, killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew on board. The accident became known as the Mount Erebus disaster.
The initial investigation concluded the accident was caused by pilot error but public outcry led to the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the crash. The commission, presided over by Justice Peter Mahon QC, concluded that the accident was caused by a correction made to the co-ordinates of the flight path the night before the disaster, coupled with a failure to inform the flight crew of the change, with the result that the aircraft, instead of being directed by computer down McMurdo Sound (as the crew had been led to believe), was instead re-routed into the path of Mount Erebus. In Justice Mahon's report, he accused Air New Zealand of presenting "an orchestrated litany of lies" and this charge in the end led to changes in senior management at the airline.
The accident is New Zealand's deadliest peacetime disaster.
The flight was designed and marketed as a unique sightseeing experience, carrying an experienced Antarctic guide who pointed out scenic features and landmarks using the aircraft public-address system, while passengers enjoyed a low-flying sweep of McMurdo Sound. The flights left and returned to New Zealand the same day.
Flight 901 would leave Auckland International Airport at 8:00 am for Antarctica, and arrive back at Christchurch International Airport at 7:00 pm after flying a total of 5,360 miles (8,630 km). The aircraft would make a 45-minute stop at Christchurch for refuelling and crew change, before flying the remaining 464 miles (747 km) to Auckland, arriving at 9:00 pm. Tickets for the November 1979 flights cost NZ$359 per person (NZ$1,279 in December 2016 with transport-related inflation).
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