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Old 27th Nov 2019, 19:54
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Airbubba
 
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Originally Posted by reubee
With this Herald/NZ On Air effort there was an error or two in the first few episodes, and I didn't think much of the interview of the US Navy Navigator who claimed to talk to the crew, don't recall seeing that conversation in the CVR transcript.
The navigator quoted in the podcast excerpt below was from the U.S. Air Force, not the Navy. If Lieutenant Knock's narrative given in the podcast is correct the radio call probably came after the crash had ended the CVR recording.

The C-141 crew refueled at McMurdo and attempted unsuccessfully to find the crash site before returning to Christchurch. They also met with the Minister of Transportation and the media according to this passage from Operation Deep Freeze 50 Years of U.S. Air Force Airlift in Antarctica 1956-2006:


A 60 MAW C‑141 carried 14 distinguished visitors to McMurdo Sound and back to Christchurch on 28 November for a commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Admiral Byrd’s first flight over the South Pole. The distinguished visitors, invited by the National Science Foundation, included political figures and senior scientists, but also included two members of Byrd’s expedition, Dr. Laurence M. Gould and Mr. Norman D. Vaughan, and Byrd’s grandson, Mr. Robert Breyer.

This high‑visibility mission soon became even more extraordinary. This flight flew approximately 45 minutes behind an Air New Zealand tourist DC‑10 (Flight 901). Flight 901 was scheduled to fly to Antarctica, circle around Mount Erebus (about 20 miles from McMurdo Sound), and return to New Zealand. Because of the proximity of this commercial aircraft and similar route, the aircraft commander, Major Bruce L. Gumble, maintained communication with the DC‑10 and monitored its position. As the DC‑10 began to descend for its low‑altitude circle around Mount Erebus, all radio contact was lost and presumed crashed.

After landing at McMurdo Sound, Naval personnel requested Major Gumble take on extra fuel and assist in a search and rescue operation. After taking off, the C‑141 conducted a low‑altitude (1,500 to 3,000 feet) visual search around Ross Island. The C‑141 began turning towards what was later confirmed as the crash site when poor weather closed in making further visual observations impossible. Upon arrival back at Christchurch, Major Gumble and the navigator, 1st Lieutenant Marlin A. Knock, met with the New Zealand Minister of Transportation and with local reporters concerning the crash.

A Navy LC‑130 aircrew identified the crash site on the side of Mount Erebus on 29 November. All 257 passengers and crew lost their lives.
Lieutenant Knock's account of the warning to the Air New Zealand crew from the Litany of Lies podcast:

For the first time ever, a US navigator has revealed his panicked alert to the crew of the doomed Air NZ flight to Erebus. First lieutenant Marlin Knock was flying 40 minutes behind Flight 901 on a C-141 Starlifter.

It was Wednesday November 28 1979. As they reached Antarctica, the pilots of both planes were in regular contact. But when Knock plotted the Air New Zealand DC10 course, he realised they were headed straight for Erebus in cloud conditions. "What I had realised [was] they were headed straight for the mountain going down," says Knock. Forty years later he says his heart still races when he recalls urging his crew on the flight deck to: "call them back now".

Knock recounts the scene on the Starlifter in the moments before the crash. "We called them [Flight 901], we got a hold of them and we were talking with them, saying 'how was it?' They said 'well we're here now and we're flying, but it's overcast over the area'. So our guys go: 'Where are you located?' They gave me a position which I plotted and they said they were descending to 5000 feet. Which made my heart stop, because I stopped and I went 'they're pretty close to Erebus.' I said 'call them back, call them back now'. What I realised, they were headed straight for the mountain, going down. I said 'they're headed towards the mountain and they're descending. There's no way they're going to make it'.

"That's when they got back on the horn to call them. One of my pilots called; we got no answer. [I was] in shock, pretty much. Because I knew that they were gone, but there was no proof of it. But I had this feeling, and I was like 'I can't believe this.'

"Basically we heard nothing else from them. When we landed [at McMurdo Base], we talked to the tower. We said: 'have you heard anything from them'? They said no. They said 'we're going to need some help. We think they've …' And I said 'I think I know'.

"I brought in an aeronautical chart that I have. It gives the whole terrain on the map and the area. I put a little mark on the chart, saying 'here's where they were, and the direction, whatever. Here's where I think you're going to find them'.

"Pilots aren't navigators. Pilots use radio aids to figure out approximately where they are. They do not have the charts. They don't have the terrain charts. They have what's called the aerial knowledge of where they are in the whole works … But as far as being able to plot it on a chart, I don't believe they had a chance."


https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/a...ectid=12284975

The C-141 is referenced in the original aircraft accident report but no mention is made of Knock's 'panicked alert' which he now recalls in the podcast. He comments that pilots are not navigators (the second part of the obvious antimetabole also holds true in most cases). However, as discussed above and in the accident report Captain Collins did have a lapsed navigator's license.
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