Desert Dingo,
Couldn't agree with you more. The crew THOUGHT that they were in VMC conditions. They were not INTENTIONALLY ignoring visual descent requirements. Prospector doesn't seem to understand that basic point.
If NO ONE at Air NZ was aware of sector whiteout, what the hell were they doing there and why did the NZ CAA give them approval to conduct flights to Antarctia? "No one does it better!"