Pages tagged with: air transport

Only one portion of the fuselage of the Air New Zealand DC-10 remained intact on the icy slopes of Mt Erebus.

On 28 November 1979, 237 passengers and 20 crew were killed when Air New Zealand Flight TE901 crashed into the side of Mt Erebus, Antarctica. The tragedy was followed by a demanding recovery operation and a raging debate over who or what was to blame

The disasters timeline and map give an overview of New Zealand's worst natural disasters, transport accidents, fires, mining accidents and other tragedies that have caused major loss of life.

There is evidence Pearse was working on ideas for powered flight from 1899 and had built his first two-cylinder petrol engine by 1902

Air New Zealand and Qantas began offering sightseeing flight over the Antarctic in February 1977.

The Erebus disaster was mainly caused by an unfortunate, late change in flight path and the white-out conditions in Antarctica.

Royal New Zealand Air Force Corsairs off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, 1944

A team of New Zealand Police officers and a Mountain Face Rescue Team were immediately dispatched to the scene of the Erebus disaster.

With the death of so many people, it is not surprising that the investigations into the tragedy became a source of great debate and controversy.

Helicopters (NZ) on Antarctica

American Airways Sikorsky flying boat 'Samoan Clipper'in Auckland

A BOAC de Havilland Comet 4C like the one used for the first regular jet service between Britain and NZ.

Listen to a description of the arrival and landing of the first flight to Antarctica on 20 December 1955.

Memorial cross on Mt Erebus. The cross is located approximately 3 km south-east of the 1979 crash site.

The first long distance flights into Antarctica from the outside world left from New Zealand on 20 December 1955.

Cross to the victims of the Erebus disaster erected by recovery workers in Antarctica

Recovery work among the debris of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 on Mt Erebus continued even in terrible weather conditions.

Looking downhill to Lewis Bay sea ice through the wreckage of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 and a maze of body location flags

Crash site of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 on the lower slopes of Mt Erebus – photo taken two days after the crash

Map showing the flight path of Air New Zealand Flight TE901 on 28 November 1979