Slightly off topic but there is a major misconception about the briefing, conducted three weeks before the flight. 27/09 #663: :" There was a briefing a few days prior to the flight where the crew were told that the route was well to the side of Mount Erebus."
Not true. The crew were told that the final waypoint was at McMurdo Station. There can be no dispute about this, because it was recorded on tape. They may not have known that a route to that waypoint from Cape Hallett would go over Erebus. This is because the chart they were given did not include Cape Hallett.
The night before, the captain plotted the route using an old flight plan. This is when he would have concluded that the final waypoint was well out to the west of McMurdo Station. He would also have noted that a route to McMurdo Station went over Erebus.
Conflicting information. No attempt to resolve the conflict. Flying around at 1500 feet in the vicinity of a 13000 foot mountain. One of the worst of a slew of very bad errors.