The airline’s minimum altitude through this area was 16,000 feet (4,877 meters) until south of McMurdo Station, and then only if certain weather conditions were present.Īir New Zealand flight planners had discovered that data which had been entered into the aircraft’s Area Inertial Navigation System (AINS) computer was incorrect. At a pre-determined waypoint, the airliner turned left toward McMurdo Station. The route of previous flights had taken the airliners from the Ross Sea into McMurdo Sound, well west of Ross Island and its 12,448 foot (3,794 meters) active volcano, Mount Erebus.
They also flew the route in a cockpit simulator. None, however, had previously flown the Antarctic route.ġ9 days before the flight, Captain Collins and First Officer Cassin had received an audio-visual briefing of the planned flight. All were very experienced pilots, type-rated in the DC-10. There were also two flight engineers, Flight Engineer Gordon Barrett Brooks and Flight Engineer Nicholas John Maloney. Because of the flight’s planned duration, the crew included two more pilots, First Officer Gregory Mark Cassin and First Officer Graham Neville Lucas. He had flown a total of 11,151 flight hours, of which 2,872 had been aboard DC-10s.
#MT EREBUS DEBRIS LICENSE#
Captain Collins held an airline transport pilot license with a DC-10 type rating. The pilot in command (PIC) was Captain Thomas James Collins. On board the airliner were a flight crew of five, cabin crew of fifteen and 237 passengers.
#MT EREBUS DEBRIS REGISTRATION#
On this date, the airliner operated as Flight TE 901 was a five year old McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30, registration ZK-NZP. The duration of the flight was estimated to be 11 hours and would travel a total of 5,360 miles (8,626 kilometers), all during daylight hours.Īir New Zealand had previously flown thirteen Antarctic excursions. The flight was planned to proceed to the vicinity of McMurdo Station at the south end of Ross Island, off the continent of Antarctica, and then return to Christchurch International Airport (CHC) on New Zealand’s South Island. (Eduard Marmet via Wikipedia)Ģ8 November 1979: An Air New Zealand sightseeing flight to Antarctica, Flight TE 901, departed Auckland Airport (AKL) on the North Island of New Zealand, at 1917 GMT, 27 November (8:17 a.m., 28 November, local time). Air New Zealand McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 ZK-NZP at London Heathrow Airport, July 1977.
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