![]() ![]() Not all bodies could be recovered so the crash site is the final resting place for some of the passengers of flight TE901, and it is now classified as a tomb (Antarctic specially protected area no 156 Lewis Bay, Mount Erebus, Ross Island).Ī tragic end to what should have been the trip of a lifetime. It left a deep, psychological impact on many of them. Camping in tents 20 metres from the crash site, the teams of up to 25 people, did 12-hour rotating shifts in difficult conditions, recovering and identifying body parts. The recovery operation, Operation Overdue, began on 29 November 1979 and finished 11 days later. ![]() It would ultimately become New Zealand’s worst air disaster. The American helicopter, reported debris and no apparent survivors but could not land due to surface conditions. Due to weather conditions they could not land and asked for a helicopter to attend the crash site. A US LC-130 Hercules sighted a black ‘smear’ on the slopes of Mt Erebus and made two passes. ![]() When they lost radio contact, McMurdo Base sent up a number of aircraft to search for the plane. Unfortunately, due to a series of organisational errors and pilot misunderstanding of Antarctic conditions the aircraft, flight TE901, was flying in a direct line towards Mt Erebus, and not flying over the Ross Ice shelf as the pilots thought.īy the time the ground warning radar alerted the pilots, it was too late and the plane crashed into the lower slope of Mt Erebus at about 450 metres (1500 feet) and exploded, killing all 257 people on board. It was stressed that “commercial overflights of Antarctica are operating in a particularly hazardous environment,… where emergencies could arise which are beyond the capacity of permanent Antarctic expeditions to respond adequately.” Somewhat prophetically, in 1979, specific concern was raised at an Antarctic Treaty meeting regarding Antarctic overflights. Most of the passengers were New Zealanders as well as Japanese, Americans and other nationalities. In 1979 the tickets cost NZ$359 which was less than two weeks wages. On the 28th November, 1979, Air New Zealand flight 901, utilising a McDonnell DouglasDC-10 aircraft, would begin an Antarctic, 11 hour round trip overflight of 5400 miles carrying 237 passengers and 20 crew. One hundred and thirty six years later, in 1977, scenic flights to Antarctica became a reality when Qantas and Air New Zealand began offering them to an enthusiastic public. It was first sighted and named by Captain Ross in 1841. Mt Erebus, in Antarctica, is the southernmost active volcano on Earth. Ice Maidens contribute to Antarctic medical research.Pine Island Glacier’s underground volcano.The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE) 1902-1904.The British Expedition to Graham Land 1920-22.Scott’s party meets Amundsen in the most remote part of the world.The German National Antarctic Expedition 1901-1903. ![]()
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