Air new zealand mt erebus crash7/1/2023 ![]() Air New Zealand had not briefed or trained its pilots on how to recognise the sector whiteout phenomenon. Known as a sector whiteout, there was no contrast to warn Collins that he was flying towards a mountain and not over McMurdo Sound as his flight plan indicated. The whiteout was not formed by a snow blizzard but by a layer of clouds blending in with the snow-covered terrain. “You could have put any other pilot in the cockpit and unless he was very experienced in whiteout conditions the result would have been the same.” In recent weeks, podcasts from three major news organisations have again raked over the coals of the 1979 tragedy – from Air New Zealand’s navigation department making a last minute change to the flight plan and giving Jim Collins the wrong navigation coordinates, Collins’ decision to descend to 2000ft, the whiteout conditions he encountered but hadn’t been trained for and the airline’s attempts to cover up evidence and lie to investigators, which was famously described by Justice Mahon as an “orchestrated litany of lies.”Īdrienne Collins has listened to them all and is matter of fact in her response. It is a searing reminder of the controversy that has lingered and probably always will – was it pilot error that caused the crash? It’s from a former pilot who suggests her father was to blame for the crash because he was flying too low. Talking to Newsroom on the eve of the 40 th anniversary, Adrienne Collins mentions a letter to the editor published in the NZ Herald that morning. The sightseeing flight to Antarctica remains New Zealand’s worst peace time disaster and 40 years later its effects are still being felt. The DC10 aircraft that Captain Jim Collins was piloting had crashed into Mt Erebus killing all 257 on board. ![]() “I was old enough to know that it meant he was never coming back and my life was going to be different.” They were upset and I sat down beside Pip, who was nine at the time, and said to her ‘He’s dead, isn’t he?’ and she said ‘Yes’.” “I came out to the living room and everyone was already up, which was really unusual. Adrienne went to bed but woke early the next morning. ![]() ![]() “I knew that something serious must have happened”. On the 40th anniversary of the Erebus disaster, a daughter of one of the pilots tells Mark Jennings of the lasting impacts of that fateful day.Īdrienne Collins was six years-old when her father’s plane was reported missing.Īir New Zealand Flight TE901 was overdue and her mother and three older sisters had gathered in the living room. ![]()
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