At 8.17am, November 28th, 1979, the DC-10 left Auckland’s airport and was on its way to Antarctica. It was meant to arrive at Christchurch International Airport at 7:00 pm, after stopping for 45mins and having a change of crew the plane was meant to fly back to Auckland and arrive at 9:00pm.
The flight cost $359 per person. The flights would normally be 85% of capacity, with the centre seats empty making it easier to walk around the aircraft; also the centre seats do not have window seats. At 12.50pm the aeroplane crashed into the northern slopes of Mt Erebus, the DC-10 crash at 1500 feet above sea level. By the time the crew worked out they were flying into Mt Erebus it was too late, because of the white out conditions the crew we not aware of the mountain in front of them. The flight crew thought they were flying over McMurdo Sound. At 10pm the media was told "It is with great regret that we
must accept the aircraft is lost. It is assumed that (it) must be down...There is very real concern at this stage."
At midnight the wreckage was spotted but it was, the next day it got reported that everyone
on the aircraft died.
The flight cost $359 per person. The flights would normally be 85% of capacity, with the centre seats empty making it easier to walk around the aircraft; also the centre seats do not have window seats. At 12.50pm the aeroplane crashed into the northern slopes of Mt Erebus, the DC-10 crash at 1500 feet above sea level. By the time the crew worked out they were flying into Mt Erebus it was too late, because of the white out conditions the crew we not aware of the mountain in front of them. The flight crew thought they were flying over McMurdo Sound. At 10pm the media was told "It is with great regret that we
must accept the aircraft is lost. It is assumed that (it) must be down...There is very real concern at this stage."
At midnight the wreckage was spotted but it was, the next day it got reported that everyone
on the aircraft died.
Only 213 passengers were identified out of 257. Out of the forty
four remaining some bodies could not be recovered and some were just too
difficult to identify. 44 undetified bodies are in a mass grave.
four remaining some bodies could not be recovered and some were just too
difficult to identify. 44 undetified bodies are in a mass grave.
There was a deep dent in the shape of the aircraft where the rear underside of the aircraft and two under wing engines slammed into the
rock-hard ice slope with Hugh force. Seventy tons of fuel broke free like a massive rain storm and the wing tanks ruptured. The low panels of the fuselage
shredded and carved deep into the ice. There was a fire bomb that balled up the slop from the exploding fuel. The fuselage and the tail caught up in
exploitation continued on spinning, rolling and coming to a shuddering halt. Rocking through the inferno, the engine continued for some second, adding power of the fine. The last piece of the plane was tail plane fin containing the rear engine. All injures that the passengers obtained were from the impact,
not from the flames of the fire. Nine hours later when US Navy C130 Hercules was searching and easily picked the blackened ice of the two slopes.
Where the inferno had melted, blackened and refroze within seconds.
On December 3rd 1979 the first members of the Erebus disaster recovery team leave McMurdo station at 8:30am. A blizzard in the evening stopped the team from doing any work until the 4th of December; the weather had been an issue before that why it took so long for the first recovery team to
enter the slopes.On the 8th of December 1979 recovery team of the Erebus disaster was almost done but where delayed because
of the weather. Later that evening the last loads of remains, bodies and belongings where completed. On the 9th of December during the progress of leaving, another body was found by Captain Tony Foley and Captain Peter Rhodes from the NZ Airline Pilots Association. That was
the last body found, that following day at 6pm the members left the crash site. The recovery operation was complete by the 10th
of December 1979; the recovery team collected 114 intact bodies, 133 bags of human remains and many bags of belongings of the people on board the aircraft.
enter the slopes.On the 8th of December 1979 recovery team of the Erebus disaster was almost done but where delayed because
of the weather. Later that evening the last loads of remains, bodies and belongings where completed. On the 9th of December during the progress of leaving, another body was found by Captain Tony Foley and Captain Peter Rhodes from the NZ Airline Pilots Association. That was
the last body found, that following day at 6pm the members left the crash site. The recovery operation was complete by the 10th
of December 1979; the recovery team collected 114 intact bodies, 133 bags of human remains and many bags of belongings of the people on board the aircraft.
The video above is a news story about the Erebus crash from 1979.