The Mount Erebus Disaster
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/5/1/12515941/1339582841.png)
On 28th November 1979, Air New Zealand flight TE901 took off on a scenic flight from Auckland to McMurdo Sound in Antarctica returning the same day via Christchurch. The flight instead crashed into Mt Erebus on Ross Island, killing all 273 passengers and 20 crew. It remains to this day New Zealand’s most horrific peacetime disaster with more lives lost than even in the earthquake that rocked Christchurch in February 2011.
The last radio communication was received from TE901 at 12:30 PM, reporting their location as 38 nautical miles north of McMurdo station. Failing to update their position by radio as required meant that by 2PM the U.S. Navy had released the following alert:
Air New Zealand Flight 901 has failed to acknowledge radio transmissions. ... One LC-130 fixed-wing aircraft and two UH-1N rotary wing aircraft are preparing to launch for SAR (Search and Rescue) effort.
The search aircraft flew the flight path taken but could find no wreckage. After expanding the search area at around 1AM on the morning of 29th November 1979, a ‘black smear’ was spotted on the slope of Mt Erebus. A helicopter moved in but could not land due to the harsh weather conditions, but it was able to identify a piece of plane bearing the koru, the logo of Air New Zealand. Only then was the worst fear confirmed.
While the crash was initially blamed on pilot error, a Royal Commission of Inquiry cleared the pilots of blame and identified Air New Zealand’s decision to change the flight path without advising the crew. Under the whiteout conditions that existed at the time, the pilots would have been unable to see the mountain in their path until it was impossible to avoid.
Due to the difficult location and extreme weather conditions, most of the aircraft’s wreckage lies where it crashed. In warm seasons, when the snow melts, it is visible from the air. In 1979, a 2 metre timber cross was erected about 3kms from the site to mark a memorial. Over time, the elements wore the cross away and it was replaced in January 1987 with a stainless steel cross.
Despite the best efforts of many, to this day the bodies of some of those who died lie where they fell on the 28th November 1979.
The last radio communication was received from TE901 at 12:30 PM, reporting their location as 38 nautical miles north of McMurdo station. Failing to update their position by radio as required meant that by 2PM the U.S. Navy had released the following alert:
Air New Zealand Flight 901 has failed to acknowledge radio transmissions. ... One LC-130 fixed-wing aircraft and two UH-1N rotary wing aircraft are preparing to launch for SAR (Search and Rescue) effort.
The search aircraft flew the flight path taken but could find no wreckage. After expanding the search area at around 1AM on the morning of 29th November 1979, a ‘black smear’ was spotted on the slope of Mt Erebus. A helicopter moved in but could not land due to the harsh weather conditions, but it was able to identify a piece of plane bearing the koru, the logo of Air New Zealand. Only then was the worst fear confirmed.
While the crash was initially blamed on pilot error, a Royal Commission of Inquiry cleared the pilots of blame and identified Air New Zealand’s decision to change the flight path without advising the crew. Under the whiteout conditions that existed at the time, the pilots would have been unable to see the mountain in their path until it was impossible to avoid.
Due to the difficult location and extreme weather conditions, most of the aircraft’s wreckage lies where it crashed. In warm seasons, when the snow melts, it is visible from the air. In 1979, a 2 metre timber cross was erected about 3kms from the site to mark a memorial. Over time, the elements wore the cross away and it was replaced in January 1987 with a stainless steel cross.
Despite the best efforts of many, to this day the bodies of some of those who died lie where they fell on the 28th November 1979.