NZ Flight 901
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alistair®, sorry, once again the impreciseness of the written word in communicating what is meant, besides, I have a degree in picking up sticks by the wrong end
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Adelaide, SA, Australia
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30th Anniversary
Malcom,
Freezy jet: First charter flight airbus lands in the Antartic | Mail Online
The aircraft is a modified A319 and as far as I know the only one of it's kind. The chances of the NZ Govt. leasing this from the Aussies to charter them there I think is low, but nothing is impossible.
Freezy jet: First charter flight airbus lands in the Antartic | Mail Online
The aircraft is a modified A319 and as far as I know the only one of it's kind. The chances of the NZ Govt. leasing this from the Aussies to charter them there I think is low, but nothing is impossible.
Yes, this is the flight and aircraft that I was recollecting. I agree, it would be unlikely if it happened.
It would be interesting to know the basics of these modifications - I presume landing gear/tyres would be one of them, perhaps braking ability, but what else I have no idea. I don't suppose the DC10's were modified at all when they flew there in the 70's (I realise they weren't required to land in Antarctica).
I find it hard to believe that the NZ government would consider such a trip because it would present problems that Scott Base is not equiped to handle.
Would something like the previously mentioned A319 be big enough for all those relatives who would want to go ?
Presuming they would not expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab, the relatives might get a shock when they found out how much it costs to transport the extra fuel to Antartica.
Would something like the previously mentioned A319 be big enough for all those relatives who would want to go ?
Presuming they would not expect the taxpayer to pick up the tab, the relatives might get a shock when they found out how much it costs to transport the extra fuel to Antartica.
Fortunately, I can't speak from experience, but I would have thought that these types of memorials, memorial services and gatherings at the crash site, would be of great importance to the relatives of the deceased.
We're all aware of the uniqueness of the Erebus disaster and it's aftermath. Give that it's 4000km from NZ, and the coldest place on earth, it wasn't possible for relatives of the 257 passengers and crew to be taken there in late 1979 or early 1980. I recall that in late 1979 there was a fair amount of pressure coming from the Japanese passengers' relatives (via the Japanese Govt) to allow a visit to the crash site, as there was something in Japanese customs that more or less required that this be done. The pressure from Kiwi passengers' relatives in recent years seems to be gathering in momentum.
So Erebus remains probably the only major disaster in the world where none of the relatives have been allowed to come even remotely close to where their loved ones perished. They can't even step on to the same continent, unless they had a valid scientific reason to go down there.
So with the A319 that travelled there last year, it is now possible to safely land a commerical jet with several hundred passengers (or whatever its capacity if this has also been modified) on board. As I've suggested, I wouldn't think overnight accomodation would be necessary. Couldn't they just be flown there and back to NZ on the same day?
I had not considered that there was just one of these types of aircraft that can land in Antarctica. I was envisaging that if 2 were chartered, then up to 2 relatives of each deceased would be able to travel. However, with only one aircraft, a limit of one would be all that could be accommodated. But who knows how much interest there will be all these years later. I think it should at least be offered.
So, it all just seems a matter of cost. Who's going to pay. Yes, I had thought the NZ government, ie the NZ taxpayer, should pay for this entirely. If I was a NZ taxpayer, I would fully support that. I feel angered thinking that it wouldn't be supported by the NZ people.
In Australia, on 7 February, we had what will probably turn out to be (if not already) our equivalent of Erebus. In fact, in many ways, it probably is worse. The way the country has responded and bonded together in support of this though, is nothing short of inspirational (looting aside). A cricket match in Adelaide (Aus v NZ) on Tuesday raised A$6m for the cause. The Red Cross in Melbourne had 20,000 phone calls in 3 days of people willing to donate blood. Volunteer firefighters from all other states, and also from NZ, have taken leave from work to go and help out. The list goes on. By the end of the week, the best part of A$100m sould have been rasied.
So it would be heartwarming to hear, later this year, that the people of NZ were fully supportive of something similar to what I've suggested.
Join Date: Jun 2001
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malcolm: Assuming some relatives are flown down there and back on the same day, and assuming the weather is clear, it seems to me to be a very long way to go for just a scenic flight around the crash site.
Would they be content with that ?
Would they be content with that ?
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henry: Apparently it's about 4,500km from Auckland to Ross Island. I relate it to the distance across the Australian continent - so for example, 3,300km from Sydney to Perth. A trek taken on a weekly basis by football teams, and other sporting codes, no to mention all the other types of travellers. So, in that respect, I wouldn't have really considered the journey from Auckland to Ross Island to be that much immensely longer. Not in the same way as say a trip from Australia to Europe is.
Well, that's a great question, but one that I couldn't really be in a position to answer.
If my memory serves me correct, the 25th anniversary was recognised in a fairly significant way, with services held in Auckland and many other NZ cities and towns, as well as MP's and others attending services in Antarctica. So there was still a fair amount of support and recognition from the NZ people, at least 4 years ago. I would have thought that would still be the case today.
I've got no idea if 10%, 50% or 90% of the relatives would be interested in a flight to or around the crash site. It's something that could easily be determined by at least offering it to them. I didn't know of anyone of the victims and have no connection with any of their relatives.
Going on newspaper reports in previous years, there seemed to be a certain level of interest, but wheter this was representative of the view of a few or dozens, is hard to say.
If it were me, then I would definitely want that opportunity.
Would they be content with that ?
If my memory serves me correct, the 25th anniversary was recognised in a fairly significant way, with services held in Auckland and many other NZ cities and towns, as well as MP's and others attending services in Antarctica. So there was still a fair amount of support and recognition from the NZ people, at least 4 years ago. I would have thought that would still be the case today.
I've got no idea if 10%, 50% or 90% of the relatives would be interested in a flight to or around the crash site. It's something that could easily be determined by at least offering it to them. I didn't know of anyone of the victims and have no connection with any of their relatives.
Going on newspaper reports in previous years, there seemed to be a certain level of interest, but wheter this was representative of the view of a few or dozens, is hard to say.
If it were me, then I would definitely want that opportunity.
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Erebus: The Aftermath
I really want a copy of "Erebus: The Aftermath". I don't care if it's VHS or dvd. I am willing to pay for it. My email is [email protected]. I saw this mini series 20 years ago and love it. I have always been interested in the erebus crash and had this show on video but lost it. I would be grateful to any response on this.
Paul Hagl
Paul Hagl
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For those interested, the writer of the Erebus: The Aftermath mini-series, Greg McGee, wrote a book that was published last year called "Tall Tales (Some True) - memoirs of an unlikely writer". In this book, their is a 32 page chapter titled "Dancing on the Coffins of the Dead" - which is entirely describing how the mini-series was all put together.
It is an interesting read, and I'd have to agree with a review I've read on the internet, that it would have been great if the Erebus chapter was not just limited to one chapter.
Amongst other things, it goes into a fair bit of depth about the legalities of writing such a script and how they managed to depict what they did. It also mentions that the show was screened and repeated in the UK (by BBC) and in Australia (ABC) - however, it was only ever screened once in New Zealand, as apparently the deal that Air NZ made with TVNZ was that they wouldn't sue if it wasn't repeated. So to those in NZ, don't expect it ever to be re-screened on television again.
It is an interesting read, and I'd have to agree with a review I've read on the internet, that it would have been great if the Erebus chapter was not just limited to one chapter.
Amongst other things, it goes into a fair bit of depth about the legalities of writing such a script and how they managed to depict what they did. It also mentions that the show was screened and repeated in the UK (by BBC) and in Australia (ABC) - however, it was only ever screened once in New Zealand, as apparently the deal that Air NZ made with TVNZ was that they wouldn't sue if it wasn't repeated. So to those in NZ, don't expect it ever to be re-screened on television again.
TVNZ just showed it over the last two nights. Now if only I'd recorded it...
30th Anniversary Memorial at Scott Base
An RNZAF 757 was used to fly 104 relatives of the passengers who died on Mt Erebus, to Scott Base for a memorial service on 16 Feb.
Erebus families to fly to Antarctica - Story - National - 3 News
New Zealand & World News - Yahoo!Xtra News
Erebus families to fly to Antarctica - Story - National - 3 News
New Zealand & World News - Yahoo!Xtra News
