All 237 passengers and 20 crew on board lost their lives. (NZST), the aircraft flew into Mt Erebus, the 12,448-foot tall mountain, on the small Ross Island (formed by four volcanoes), just off the main landmass, near Antarctica. Please see the screenshot of the applicable/actual Map/Route (sourced from Wiki) of the flight below - shown before the final few images.Īt 12.49 pm. Sir Edmund Hillary, of Mt Everest fame, was actually scheduled to act as the guide for this flight, but had to cancel owing to other commitments), the flight would point out the scenic features and landmarks using the aircraft's public-address system, while passengers enjoyed a low-flying sweep of the McMurdo Sound. Carrying an experienced Antarctic guide (e.g. The aircraft used on this Antarctic flight was Air New Zealand's (own) McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 trijet with registration ZK-NZP ( Note: For this story here, the exact livery/color is used including the correct Registration (credit to HJG) - this registration has not been reissued since). The aircraft would make a 45-minute stop at Christchurch for refueling and crew change, before flying the remaining leg back to Auckland, arriving at 9:00 pm. It was expected to arrive back at Christchurch International Airport at 7:00 pm after flying a total of 5,360 miles. On 28 November 1979, Air New Zealand Flight (TE-901), designed and marketed as a unique sightseeing experience, left Auckland International Airport at 8:00 am for the continent of Antarctica. The topic and images of this story (in 2 Parts) cover the case of a well-known CFIT accident. In a typical CFIT scenario, the crew is unaware of the impending disaster until it is too late. It took me two flights to get this story right, so here is Part I.Ī controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) is an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, a body of water or an obstacle.
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