An Air New Zealand Airbus A320 crashed in the Mediterranean last week while on an acceptance testing flight at the end of a lease. The tragedy occurred on the 29th anniversary of the airline's worst disaster, the crash of sightseeing flight TE901 in the Antarctic. Beginning in 1977, the popular one-day flights took passengers on low level flights over the Ross Dependency, with experienced guides providing commentary. TE 901 flew on beautiful, clear day, and yet the DC-10 collided with the side of Mt Erebus, killing all 257 on board. The original accident report cited pilot error, but that was only the beginning. [more inside]
posted by szechuan on Dec 3, 2008 - 12 comments

I have dreamed of Erebus. mcwetboy took you to the Arctic today. Now read one man's fascinating diary of his trip to Antarctica in 2001, as well as this year's coming journey to the bottom of the world. Lots of words here, and some cool pictures. Not to mention margaritas and guacamole.
posted by WolfDaddy on Nov 5, 2002 - 9 comments