Mt Erebus Disaster 40th Anniversary

[prospector]

"The reason they did is because that was the SOP adopted. McMurdo controllers stated that no flight ever made its descent from the LSALT in accordance with the laid down SOP, they always came up McMurdo Sound at low altitude, at times below 1,500 ft."

Not so

But the only other flight that had the weather conditions similar to this flight , Capt Roger Dalziel's went to the alternative sightseeing route over the South Magnetic Pole. Surely the weather conditions that were passed to the crew, and the recommendation that sightseeing was not advisable in the Mc Murdo area are the relevant details.

As to all the flights going up McMurdo Sound, at 1,500ft or lower the following would refute that statement.

" The police investigation focused on Mayne Hawkins, the pilot of the first company flight to the Antarctic-- the previous excursions had been flown for a travel agency-- who flatly denied under oath, flouting the rule about the 6,000ft minimum. If he could be proved guilty of perjury the way was open to demolish the airline's case completely and prove the conspiracy theory..

"I thought of all the people to give evidence, mine was the least controversial" says Hawkins, "but the police scoured the world to find evidence that I'd gone low. I sat in limbo, completely frustrated"

My lawyer approached the police to ask why nothing had happened, why there was no talking to me, and they asked him what I had to hide. They didn't believe the evidence of the other members of my crew, saying it was a bit like a wife giving evidence for her husband."

The one piece of 'EVIDENCE' was a remark that the DC10 was "going down to a lower altitude" which proved absolutely nothing when no mention of its previous height was made, and the case was quietly dropped.

The case was quietly dropped, the person that gave the flight crew the weather report of conditions at McMurdo was not called to give evidence, could one not be forgiven for seeing a pattern developing.

Once again nobody is stating that a lot of folks did not do their jobs properly, but he statement that the crew were completely blameless is patently ridiculous.