John Hill: You are not allowed to suggest that they were lost. (This rule has not yet been enshrined in a statute, although Jim Anderton and NZALPA have a bill before Parliament.) At all times, "the crew were certain of their position" - and completely wrong. (I reckon the penny finally dropped about 10 seconds before impact: Why turn left?)
Rollingthunder: Wasn't the DC10 a superior aircraft in almost every respect? I think you're quite right. The only design defect in the 10 was the cargo door issue, which had been sorted out long before. AirNZ obviously chickened out for no logical aviation reason - but perhaps perception is everything? They certainly managed to dig themselves out of the hole with the 747.