Not a single solitary pilot said "Capt. Wilson told us that the nav track went to X", X being a position other than at McMurdo Station.
Sorry ampan, you don't get away with such crap. Not a single solitary pilot? I'll give you 3 for starters.
F/O Irvine's evidence (B.552)
I am certain that at no stage during the briefing conducted by Captain Wilson was anything said to the effect that our flight plan track would go over Ross Island or Mt Erebus. When I left the briefing I had a clear understanding that we were flying into the McMurdo area up the McMurdo Sound with Ross Island and Mt Erebus well out to our left. If mention had been made that our track passed over Ross Island and Mt Erebus, I would most certainly have questioned Captain Wilson about it to clarify my own understanding.
One purpose in talking through briefing notes is to highlight important aspects of the briefing material. Mention of the fact that the planned track went directly over Erebus, the biggest obstruction in the area, would have been the most important factor in building up a mental orientation of the area in which the final approach and let -down to McMurdo were planned. For that reason, I would have expected direct and clear reference to have been made to it.
Capt Gabriel’s evidence (B528)
The briefing session commenced with the audio-visual presentation. I remember when the slide came on together with the commentary "Erebus ahead" noting that the heading of the aircraft was to the right of the high ground depicted in the slide. I consequently expected the aircraft to approach the McMurdo area on a track which would take the aircraft to the west of Mt Erebus:
Nothing that I saw or heard during the audio-visual presentation gave me the impression that the aircraft would overfly Mt Erebus during its approach to the McMurdo area.
<snip>
In conclusion I wish to emphasise that early in my RCU briefing, from a comparison of the Byrd Reporting Point co-ordinates as shown on the RNC4 chart and the co-ordinates of the "McMurdo" waypoint on the computer flight plan shown to me, I calculated that the planned track for the aircraft was up the McMurdo Sound and clear of high ground.Nothing I saw or heard at either briefing before or after coming to this conclusion alerted me to the fact that the planned route was over Ross Island in the vicinity of Mt Erebus and terminated at Williams Field.
Capt Simpson’s evidence (B422)
The briefing commenced with an audio-visual presentation. The impression I got from the audio-visual was that our approach to the McMurdo area would be up the McMurdo Sound. I certainly did not get the impression from the audio-visual that our approach would be over Ross Island or Mt Erebus.
<snip>
During the briefing Captain Wilson produced flight plans from a previous flight to the Antarctic for our perusal. These were available for inspection for some time and were retained by Captain Wilson at the conclusion of the briefing session. When I looked at one of these flight plans I noticed that the latitude and longitude of the McMurdo position were almost the same, but further south and west, as the Byrd Reporting Point. I did not record this position but only noted it mentally. It seemed to me to be a logical position in that it was at the head of the Sound clear of high terrain and a good position to start sightseeing from in the McMurdo area. I also noticed that the McMurdo waypoint on the flight plan was not described as the McMurdo TACAN or any other navigational aid as is the practice when waypoints are located with navigational aids. I took the McMurdo description of the waypoint to equate with McMurdo Sound being the area where the waypoint was located.
<snip>
... Captain Wilson describes running his pen down the HI-NDB-A chart and says that he mentioned to us that the track would come "from Cape Hallett over Erebus to McMurdo". I have absolutely no recollection of him saying this either with reference to the HI-NDB-A chart or at any other time during the briefing. If Captain Wilson had made such a comment to the effect that our track passed over Erebus or over Ross Island on route to McMurdo Station it would have been in conflict with my understanding that the NAV track proceeded from Cape Hallett to a position west and south of the Byrd Reporting Point. I am positive that in such circumstances I would have queried his remark. To overfly Mt Erebus and Ross Island would seem such an unwise manner of approaching McMurdo Station and in addition I would not have been happy overflying an active volcano only 3,500 feet above its summit especially if the conditions were IMC. In such circumstances turbulence would be likely and you would not know the extent to which the mountain was erupting.
Pretty good trick if you say the track was direct McMurdo Station and everybody leaves the briefing thinking it was not.