the Aircraft Accident: DC. 10 ZK-NZP Flight 901

At 8:20 am on 28 November 1979, Flight TE901 left Auckland Airport

On board were 237 passengers and 20 crew, looking forward to the 11 hour return sightseeing flight to Antarctica

At 12:49 pm the deck altitude device began to blare a warning but there was no time for Captain Thomas James 'Jim' Collins to save the situation from disaster

Six seconds later Flight 901 hit the side of Mount Erebus and disintegrated

The Mount Erebus disaster was New Zealand's biggest single tragedy, with one more death than in the 1931 Napier Earthquake

257 people died (237 passengers and 20 crew) - 200 New Zealanders, 24 Japanese, 22 Americans, 6 British, 2 Canadians, 1 Australian, 1 French, 1 Swiss

... 213 victims were eventually identified ...

On 22 February 1980 a burial service was held for the 44 unidentified victims

A wooden cross was erected on the mountain above Scott Base to commemorate the accident. It was replaced in 1986 with an aluminium cross after the original was eroded by low temperatures, wind and moisture

The memorial for the 16 passengers who were unidentifiable and the 28 whose bodies were never found is at Waikumete Cemetery in Glen Eden, Auckland. Beside the memorial is a Japanese cherry tree, planted as a memorial to the 24 Japanese passengers who died

A memorial to the crew members of Flight 901 is located adjacent to Auckland Airport on Tom Pearce Drive at the eastern end of the airport zone

In January 2010 a 26kg sculpted koru containing letters written by the loved ones of those who died was placed next to the Antarctic cross.
It was originally to have been placed at the site by six relatives of the victims on the 30th anniversary of the crash, 28 November 2009, but this was delayed for two months due to bad weather.

It is planned for a second koru capsule, mirroring the first capsule, to be placed at the cross in 2011


Watch the video documentary produced by John Keir on the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the DC-10 crash at Mt Erebus in Antarctica:
Flight 901 to Erebus ... total of about 50 minutes

a ROLL of REMEMBRANCE for those lost on Flight TE901
- you can share your memories of anyone you knew who was on that flight and can also upload pictures of them (large site takes a little time to load)

the following list of names was taken from that site:
.. the * indicates a photo at name ..

the CREW

COLLINS - *Captain, Thomas James 'Jim' (NZ)
CASSIN - *First Officer, Gregory Mark (NZ)
LUCAS - *First Officer, Graham Neville (NZ)
BROOKS - *Flight Engineer, Gordon Barrett (NZ)
MOLONEY - *Flight Engineer, Nicholas John 'Nick' (NZ)
BENNETT - *Assistant Purser, David John (NZ)
CARR-SMITH - *Cabin Crew, Elizabeth Mary (NZ)
CATER - *Senior Cabin Crew, Graham Ronald (NZ)
COLLINS - *Purser, Martin John (NZ)
FINLAY - *Assistant Purser, Mchael James (NZ)
KEENAN - *Cabin Crew, Dianne (NZ)
LEWIS - *Cabin Crew, James Charles (NZ)
MARINOVIC - *Senior Cabin Crew, Suzanne Margaret (NZ)
MAXWELL - *Senior Cabin Crew, Bruce Rhodes (NZ)
McPHERSON - *Chief Purser, Roy William (NZ)
MORRISON - *Cabin Crew, Katrina Mary June (NZ)
MULGREW - *In Flight Commentator, Peter David (NZ)
SCOTT - *Purser, Russell Morrison (NZ)
SICKELMORE - *Cabin Crew, David Brian (NZ)
SIMMONS - *Cabin Crew, Stephen George (was STEEL NZ)
WOLFERT - *Cabin Crew, Marie-Therese (NZ) aged 28

the PASSENGERS

ADDIS, Peter James (NZ)
AISENMAN, Lleone Margaret (USA)
ALLAN, Alan Lawrence Malyon (NZ)
ALLAN, Jane Phillipa (NZ)
ALLAN, Marjorie Townley (NZ)
ANDERSON, Audrey Gordon (UK)
ANDERSON, Margret Isabel (NZ)
ANGLESEY, Grant William (NZ)
ARMITAGE, Ethel Mary (NZ)
ARNOLD, Melinda Maria (NZ)
ASHTON, Graham Mitford (NZ)

BAGNALL, Mr (Switzerland)
BAGNALL, Mrs (Switzerland)
BAINBRIDGE, Thomas Eric (NZ)
BALDWIN, Llewellyn Arnold 'Peter' (NZ)
BARNICK, Kay Marion (USA)
BARNICK, Marion Ruth (USA)
BEAUMONT, Earl Aubrey (Canada)
BECKETT, Desmond William (NZ)
BLAIR, Patricia Adele (USA)
BOND, Marilyn Alma (NZ)
BOND, Robin Melville (NZ)
BREHAUT, Ronald Thomas (NZ)
BROAD, Doctor Jon Philip (NZ)
BROAD, Philippa Margaret (NZ)
BROOKS, Geraldine Kay (NZ)
BROUGH, Aubrey Conroy (Aria, King Country NZ)
BUCHANAN, Geoffrey (NZ)
BURCKHALTER, Lucille Clark (USA)
BURGESS, Lindsay Robert(NZ)
BURGESS, Rose Ellen (NZ)
BURGI, Heinz (Switzerland) travelling with Urs Locher
BURTON, Lorraine Eileen aged 40 that day (NZ)
BUTLER, Rae Jeanne (NZ)

CAMERON, Rangiaho (NZ)
CAMPBELL, Stuart Donald (NZ)
CARLETON, John Barrie(NZ)
CARLETON, Marion Rennie (NZ)
CARR, Margaret Bell (NZ)
CHADDERTON, Bryan Harry (NZ)
CHADDERTON, Valerie Enid (NZ)
CHRISTIANSEN, Alla (NZ)
CHRISTMAS, Hugh Francis (NZ)
CLARK, David (NZ)
CLARK, Irene Alice (NZ)
CLARK, Iris (NZ)
CLARK, William Henry (NZ)
COCKRILL, Joan Audrey (NZ)
COLBRAN, Cyril Bernard (NZ)
COLBRAN, Yvonne Louise (NZ)
COLE, John Wright (NZ)
COPAS, Jean Ann Barnett (NZ)
COPLEY, Susan Elaine (UK)
COPSEY, Audrey Joy (NZ)
COREY, Doctor Constance (NZ)
CRABTREE, Mary Alison (NZ)
CRABTREE, Norman David (NZ)

DAHL, Marie Patricia (NZ)
DAVIES, June (Australia)
DAWSON, Peter Massie (NZ)
DEAN, Kay (NZ)
DEBBAGE, Florence Daisy (NZ)
DEMAGE, Nora Violet (NZ)
DUFF, Helen Dora (USA)
DUKE, *Athol David (NZ)
DYKZUEL, Hermanus Adrianus Johannes Maria Douglas (NZ)
DYKZUEL, Johannes Cabrini Maria (NZ)

EAGLES, Gwen Louise (NZ)
EDWARDS, Edna Miriam (UK)
EDWARDS, Elizabeth Jane (NZ)
EMMETT, Cecillia Campbell (NZ)
EMMETT, John Barnham (NZ)

FERRELL, Jean (USA)
FROST, Katherine Edith Janet (NZ)
FURUKAWA, Kuniyasu (Japan)

GALLAGHER, Alfred James (NZ)
GALLAGHER, Elsie Thelma (NZ)
GIBBS, Brucie (NZ)
GILLIVER, Richard (NZ)
GOSLING, Violet Iris (NZ)
GOTO, Norio (Japan)
GULLAND, Pamela Margaret (NZ)

HANCE, Florence Lee (usa)
HANSEN, Marlene Anne (1942-1979 NZ)
HARRIS, Hazel Phoebe (NZ)
HARRISON, Annie (NZ)
HARRISON, Muriel Florence Rose (NZ)
HARTLEY, James Follett (NZ)
HARTY, Myra Pearl (NZ)
HAWORTH, Kathleen (NZ)
HAWORTH, Peter (NZ)
HIGUCHI, Mitsuo (Japan)
HILL, Eileen Elsie (NZ)
HILL, Gordon Alexander (NZ)
HOLLOWAY, Jean Marie (NZ)
HOLTHAM, Bryan Ernest (NZ)
HOTSON, Roy Henry (NZ)
HOUGHTON, John Greenleaf (USA)
HOWARTH, Ralph Brenton (NZ)
HUGHES, Steven William (NZ)
HUMPHREY, Mildred Alice (NZ)
HYNDMAN, Thomas William Noel (NZ)

IMAI, Akira (Japan)
IMAI, Hisao (Japan)

JAHN, Ernest Adalbert (USA)
JAHN, Isabel (USA)
JARVIS, Nicholas Dunstan (NZ)
JENKINS, Evelyn Lois (NZ)
JENNINGS, Charles Ivory (NZ)

KARL, Kathleen Florence (NZ)
KEARNEY, Dennis Frances (NZ)
KEITH, John Edgar (NZ)
KENDON, Nancy Phyllis (NZ)
KERR, Betty (NZ)
KERR, Francis Ronakd
KERR, Geoffrey Ian Hamilton (NZ)
KILSBY, Anthony John (NZ)
KILSBY, Geoffrey Michael (NZ)
KING, Nancy (NZ)
KIRK, Donald Clive (NZ)
KITAGAWA, Asako (Japan)
KLASSOVITY, Paul Anthony (USA)
KLENSCH, Carl Robert (USA)

LAKE, Mary Louise (USA)
LARSEN, William Olaf (NZ)
LAVIN, James Francis (NZ)
LEPINE, Yves (France)
LIES, Michael Ralph (USA)
LING, Alison Louise (NZ)
LOCHER, *Urs aged 29 (SWITZ - NZ)
LOMAX, William Brian (NZ)
LOUGHNAN, Charles Henry Devenish (NZ)
LOUGHNAN, Patrick Louis (NZ)

MacKENZIE, *John Alexander, husband of Stella below (NZ)
MacKENZIE, Margaret Joyce 'Peg' (NZ)
MacKENZIE, *Stella Vonomerie, wife of John above (NZ)
MADGWICK, Eudora Emily (NZ)
MAGNELL, Muriel (USA)
MAGNELL, Theodore James (USA)
MANLEY, David Victor (NZ)
MANN, Dorothy Maude (NZ)
MARSDEN, Dorothy (NZ)
MARSDEN, Joseph Alan (NZ)
MARTIN, Sarah Jane (NZ)
MASKELYNE, Trevor John (NZ)
MASON, Robert (NZ)
MATTHEWS, Barbara Dawn (NZ)
MAYNARD, Olive Myrtle (NZ)
MAYNARD, William George (NZ)
McDONALD, Shirley Jane (NZ)
McKENDRY, Richard John (NZ)
McMILLIAN, John Bruce (NZ)
McMILLIAN, Melba Pearl (NZ)
McNAMARA, Bernard Joseph (NZ)
McNEIL, Eric Albert Dunbar (NZ)
MEIER, Jurg (Switzerland)
MITCHELL, Mark Geoffrey (NZ)
MITSUHASHI, Junichi (Japan)
MITSUHASHI, Nakako (Japan)
MUNRO, *Ross (Otorohanga NZ)
MURRAY, Owen John (NZ)

NICHOLSON, Christine Margaret (NZ)
NODA, Shigeru (Japan)

O'CONNOR, *Ian John (NZ)
ODANI, Hiroko (Japan)
ODANI, Morihiko (Japan)
OLIVER, Mervyn John (NZ)
ONO, Tetsuro (Japan)
OSAWA, Juhei (Japan)
OSAWA, Masa (Japan)
OZAWA, Norio (Japan)

PALMER, David Lloyd (NZ)
PALMER, Edward James (NZ)
PALMER, Gary Kent (NZ)
PARKKARI, Eija Kylli Marjatta (Canada)
PATERSON, Ethel Mary (NZ)
PATERSON, Linda Jan (NZ)
PAYKEL, Nola Minchin (NZ)
PAYNE, Alfred Murray (NZ)
PEACOCKE, Majorie Ethel Isabella (NZ)
PETHERS, Carla (NZ)
PLUMMER, Alexander Francis (NZ)
PLUMMER, Hilda Francis (NZ)
POTTER, Michael Arthur Edwin (NZ)
PRESTON, Robert John (NZ)
PRICE, Beatrice Irene (NZ)
PRICE, Beverley (NZ)
PRIDMORE, Joy Anges (NZ)

RAWLINS, Valerie (Vere) Mary
REVELL, Basil Halvor
REVELL, Eileen Geraldine
RICHMOND, Pamela Gayl
ROBB, Helen Lady
ROBERTS, Alison Meryl
ROBERTS, Michael Seaver
ROBINSON, Betty Estelle
RUDEN, Karl (USA)

SATO, Hisako (Japan)
SCOTT, Marie Theresa (NZ)
SEKI, Michi (Jaoan)
SEKI, Toshiro (Japan)
SHEPPARD, George M (USA)
SHIGETA, Seishrio (Japan)
SHINONOYA, Ryoichi (Japan)
SMITH, Betty Louise (NZ)
SMYTHE, Henry Howard (NZ)
STEEL, Ralph Augustus (USA)
STEVENSON, Anthony James Leonard (NZ)
STEWART, Donald Matthew (NZ)
STOKES, Alan Maxwell (NZ)
STOREY, Phyllis May (NZ)

TAKADA, Masaaki (Japan)
TANTON, Peter Alex (Australia)
TAYLOR, Douglas Clement Frank (NZ)
THOMAS, Roy Pearce (NZ)
THOMAS, Walter Daniel (NZ)
THOMPSON, Billie Tadlock (USA)
THOMPSON, Henry Ford (USA)
THOMPSON, Watson (NZ)
TREMAINE, Florence Anne 'Floss', wife of 'Bob' below (NZ)
TREMAINE, Robert David 'Bob', husband of Floss (Taupo NZ) aged 60
TRINDER, Elaine Frances (UK) aged 26

WARD, Henry (Henderson, Auckland NZ) aged 58
WARD, Valerie (Henderson, Auckland NZ) aged 57
WATSON, Isobel (Mt Albert, Auckland NZ) aged 65
WATSON, Katherine (Eastbourne, Wellington NZ) aged 64
WEBB, Alfred William (Morrinsville NZ)
WILLIAMS, Janet Challis (Hastings, Hwkes Bay NZ) aged 70
WILLIAMS, Janet Mary (Havelock North, Hawkes Bay NZ) aged 60
WILLIAMS, Leonard Heathcote (Havelock North NZ) aged 60
WOOD, Barbara Annie (Kiritea, Thames NZ) aged 66
WOOD, Irvine Kirkham (Kiritea, Thames NZ) aged 72
WORTH, Linda (Epson, Auckland NZ) aged 74

YANAGISAWA, Hamako (Japan)
YANAGISAWA, Nobuyoshi (Japan)
YOKOYAMA, Ryoji (Japan)

ZOLL, Otmar (New Lynn, Auckland NZ) aged 46


PHOTO
Mount Erebus
... the second highest volcano in Antarctica (after Mount Sidley) and the most southerly volcano on earth. It is the 6th highest ultra mountain on an island. Mount Erebus is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which includes over 160 active volcanoes. The volcano has been observed to be continuously active since 1972