Oh, Bollocks
I suspect most of the respondents in this thread are professional aviators. What was one of the first lessons you were taught when you started flying?
"the PiC is responsible for the safe conduct of the flight." It doesn't matter who did the flight planning, it is the PiC who has sole responsiblity for safe conduct, and that includes separation from terrain. Jim Collins was the best man at my father's wedding. I knew his girls , and his wife. I am friends with F/O Cassins daughter (also a professional aviator), and I was on the flight deck of a DC10 into HKG when the news came through that the flight in question was overdue. My father's first comment was "Jim's hit Erebus".
Those pilots who had flown to the South Pole before Jim were incredibly lucky. They had good viz and clear conditions. I had a friend on Capt Vette's flight - apparently "he flew so low over McMurdo, you could see in the door of the mess hall". Vette was a cowboy, and is a grandstander. Any lawyer will tell you that the best form of defence is attack. Had anything come out about Vette being below 1000ft over McMurdo, the sh*t would have hit the fan, but it didn't. Crediblity is his case is lacking.
Ron Chippendale is an experienced air accident investigator, who doesn't loose site of the facts, the primary one being that "the PiC has responsibilty for the safe conduct of the flight". If your a/c is stuffed, you don't take it. If the E/R weather is crap, you delay. If there is windshear, you go around. AND IF THERE IS NO VISUAL REFERENCE, YOU DON'T DESCEND BELOW MSA! Simple stuff.
I have the greatest respect for Jim and his family, and for that of all the flight crew. There were alot of distractions on the flight deck that day, none of which was conducive to the safe operation of a large jet aircraft. However, it is still the PiC's responsibility to manage HIS/HER flight deck. The company route was published on the flight plan - and the a/c had INS. The a/c charts had grid co-ords. If you are unsure, plot (ref. my remark about distractions on the flight deck).
There is no disrespect intended for those flight crew or passengers who lost their lives. You only can do your best on the day. Sometimes, that best isn't good enough, and when the REASON Model (for CRM) gives you the right alignment for an accident, it'll happen. The last line of defence is the flight crew, AND THEY FAILED TO SPOT THE ERROR. Air New Zealand was not flying the aircraft, the crew were. And the buck should stop there.