..the captain can't be entirely exonerated.
He was and that finding is now etched in stone. A indisputable fact that can be debated ad infinitum but it will make no difference.
It is statements like that that have no foundation in fact that is the main cause for dissent with many..
It is very disputable, and has been many times. One point that has not been put forward is the fact that the airline could very well have only used two crews for all these flights. That would have served the purpose of only having captains who had done the flight before, as recommended by RNZAF and US Air force who had much experience operating to the ice.. However, it has been put forward that NZALPA pilots were very keen to have their TURN at this flight. As has been stated before, a Captain may be perfectly qualified and experienced on scheduled flight on airways to major airports, but that in no way qualifies a captain to be making decisions on sight seeing flights in the Antarctic. in a DC10 at no less than 260kts at an altitude that was below all laid down minimums for this flight.
Justice Mahons findings were no more than a legal opinion that could not be appealed, the findings by the Aircraft Accident Inspector, Ron Chippendale is still the official finding, and has never been appealed