Air New Zealand Flight 901

November 1979 aviation accident in Antarctica

Air New Zealand Flight 901 was a flight that operated from 1977 to 1979. The flight did not stop in Antarctica. It was a sightseeing flight to Antarctica. It was supposed to loop between Auckland, New Zealand, and Antarctica.

Air New Zealand Flight 901
Debris from the DC-10's fuselage photographed in 2004. Most of the wreckage of Flight 901 remains at the accident site.
Accident
Date28 November 1979
SummaryControlled flight into terrain
SiteMount Erebus, Antarctica
77°25′30″S 167°27′30″E / 77.42500°S 167.45833°E / -77.42500; 167.45833
Aircraft
Aircraft typeMcDonnell Douglas DC-10-30
OperatorAir New Zealand
RegistrationZK-NZP
Flight originAuckland International Airport
Occupants257
Passengers237
Crew20
Fatalities257
Survivors0

The flight's route had been changed without the crew's knowledge shortly before the plane took off. Because the weather conditions of the Antarctic were so bad (severely limiting visibility), and the crew believed they were following the original flight plan-the plane crashed straight into Mount Erebus. None of the 257 people on board the plane survived the crash. The original investigation showed it was the pilot's fault, but people protested and it led to an inquiry into the crash. The conclusion was the accident was caused by a correction made to the route the night before the disaster, and they failed to inform pilot Captain Jim Collins and co-pilot Greg Cassin.

Country Passengers Crew Total
 New Zealand 180 20 200
 Japan 24 0 24
 United States 22 0 22
 United Kingdom 6 0 6
 India 2 0 2
 Canada 2 0 2
 Mexico 1 0 1
 Australia 1 0 1
 Russia 1 0 1
 Brazil 1 0 1
 China 1 0 1
 Belgium 1 0 1
 France 1 0 1
 Germany 1 0 1
 Italy 1 0 1
  Switzerland 1 0 1
Total 237 20 257