Current Entries |
| Name: | Grant Geddes |
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| Location: | Johannesburg South Africa |
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| Comments: | "Lest we Forget" - In memory of all those who perished on Air New Zealand TE 901. As an ex South African Air Force pilot, I was fortunate enough to fly two tours of duty in Antarctica, as a commander on Aerospatiale SA330J Puma helicopters during 1986 and 1987. As part of our pre-cruise training work up, we would view the Documentary on the Accident Investigation into the Erebus accident, and in particular the outstanding research brought to the table by Gordon Vette. As we now know, his tenacious efforts along with those of Justice Mahon, went on to exonerate the crew of the human factors elements initially ascribed as the primary and sole reasons for this tragic accident. It is extremely difficult to convey the powerful traps which await pilots operating in polar conditions, in particular those which relate to the mechanics of sight. I remain convinced, that one of the primary reasons for our good safety record in Antarctic Operations, was the fact that we were armed with the valuable information gleaned by Captain Gordon Vette, during his research into the Erebus accident. In memory of the Crew and Passengers of Flight TE 901. Grant Geddes, Senior First Officer Airbus A340, South African Airways. |
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| Visit Date: | 3/07/2009 |
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| Name: | maineman |
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| Location: | Auckland |
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| Comments: | Congratulations to all concerned on getting this website up and running!
I lost three friends on board flight TE901.
At the time of the disaster I was climbing at Mt. Cook, having spent the previous evening in Christchurch with a friend who expressed being jealous of my spending a year at Scott Base in 1971-72. He said "I wish I could go there one day." Within the week he was - as part of the Cliff Rescue & recovery team.
So I guess one must be careful of what one wishes for.
Much later another member of the team told me he had personally recovered Capt. Collins' satchel at the site, and inside had seen the Atlas subsequently mentioned in various reports. He had handed it in to the Police. And like the contents of the ring binder (also recovered and mentioned on this web site) - the Atlas mysteriously disappeared!
I hope this great web site helps - amongst other things - to promote the discovery of who, or what, happened to those documents.
I believe it will remain a "splinter in the minds" of those responsible until the truth be told. |
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| Visit Date: | 3/07/2009 |
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| Name: | Philippa Lewis |
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| Location: | Tauranga |
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| Comments: | A very comprehensive website which brought back to me so many memories of that fateful flight.The events of November 28 1979 are forever etched in my mind it being the day I lost a very beloved brother and neice Jon and Philippa Broad. I would be grateful if you would correct the spelling of both their names on the roll of honour. |
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| Visit Date: | 1/07/2009 |
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| Name: | Philip Haslemore |
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| Location: | Auckland |
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| Comments: | An impressive tribute to the lives lost on that lonely mountain. And a great place to come to for the many left behind without their fathers, mothers, daughters, sons or friends. Whoever came up with this plan is a very honorable person and for the many who would have assisted with the production of this site, congratulations.
Might I suggest though, that although the internet is a place of free expression perhaps you should remove posts that appoint blame to either side. Otherwise instead of having a tribute you may end up with a slinging match that may hurt some of those you produced this site for.
There are a few other pilot forums that might be a more suitable place for their debate. |
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| Visit Date: | 1/07/2009 |
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| Name: | A lurker |
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| Location: | Whangarei |
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| Comments: | RIP to all those who died in this tragic accident. You will never be forgotten. May we all learn from this so that such a tragedy never happens again... |
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| Visit Date: | 30/06/2009 |
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| Name: | Maurice J Smalley |
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| Location: | Mt Maunganui NZ |
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| Comments: | It is sad but predictable that the only negative comments should come from the ICAO, a part of the UN (United Nations), the most corrupt entity on earth.
My wife was employed as ANZ cabin crew at the time of this disaster and was positioned in Christchurch to crew the flight back to Auckland,overwhelming sadness and concern for the passengers and crew lost has never left us.
Well done on an excellent website, the truth of this accident needed to be recorded for generations to come.
Thankyou to all involved. |
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| Visit Date: | 30/06/2009 |
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| Name: | Enrique |
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| Location: | Bogotá, Colombia |
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| Comments: | Congratulatios!
This is a big effort to bring safety investigation to the what and why and not simply the who.
Pilot error is "the spears end" of the organizational accident.
Keep it up! |
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| Visit Date: | 29/06/2009 |
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| Name: | Shikamaru |
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| Location: | HamiLtrOn, The City Of The Future ! |
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| Comments: | this was a great site.. luv yaas xoxox
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| Visit Date: | 29/06/2009 |
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| Name: | Brian O'Dea |
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| Location: | Melbourne |
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| Comments: | Congratulations to all concerned with the presentation of this memorial. The content is an on-going reminder to all that the correct attitude to, and application of, their role in safely operating an aircraft is constantly required. Justice Mahon's role, with the wonderful help of many others, in pursueing the broad causes involved in this accident facilitated the worldwide growth of knowledge and understanding of aircraft accidents. Vale to all of the victims. |
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| Visit Date: | 29/06/2009 |
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| Name: | Phoebe |
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| Location: | Wellington |
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| Comments: | A really good website which makes you think back to the awful tragedy which we all should know about in nz because air nz is our plane, our history. Before I came to this website i didn't know anything about that tragedy except that it happened and it was bad obviously. I will tell my friends about this website and I'
m sure they'll have a look. Great read and very interesting. Thanks |
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| Visit Date: | 29/06/2009 |
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| Name: | Kathryn Collins |
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| Location: | Auckland |
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| Comments: | Thank you to the ALPA team for the immense effort that has gone in to the production of this website , and all those who have contributed by their hard work into making this valuable resource available for people to access all over the world.
The sacrifices made by so many of the living in order to remember those who died ,and to find reasons for why they died ,is a testament to the strength and courage of the human spirit. These people worked extremely hard in often very adverse conditions in order to find out why TE901 ,with an experienced competent ,senior aircrew on board, crashed in broad daylight on the side of Mt Erebus in the Antarctic on Nov 28 1979.
It is their accounts, the work of Gordon Vette on visual sector whiteout, Peter Mahon's understanding of the complexity of the case, and the likes of Greg Gilpin and Stuart Leightons' experience of the circumstances encountered on the ice that have helped complete the picture presented here.
I would like to thank Keith Pattie, Paul Lyons and Mark Rammell of ALPA to name a few for all the effort over the years that they have put in toward supporting this outcome, and those members of ALPA whose names I would like to mention ,if I only knew them all.
For us to lose our dearly loved father and husband Capt Jim Collins in such circumstances was something we never thought possible and was emotionally devastating . He was an extremely meticulous pilot ,a methodical and careful planner and navigator ,and didnt take unnecessary risks. He was also a great Dad spending lots of time with his children.
He knew aircraft backwards ,having also been an airframe mechanic in the airforce before becoming a pilot and was very respectful of machinery and all interactions with it.
He loved flying ,was kind to people and had a great sense of humour, and great humility.
He didnt deserve what fate provided him with and probably nor did we or the others who died with him, but if out of his death can come something that helps others then he would have been pleased , and it helps me to think that perhaps others can learn from this experience.
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| Visit Date: | 29/06/2009 |
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| Name: | Paul Lyons |
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| Location: | Auckland |
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| Comments: | While there are some who have the view that the Erebus tragedy was simply 'pilot error', it has long been known that failures in complex transport systems are rarely if ever simple. The vital point we must take from any accident on the scale of Erebus is the understanding of all factors leading to the event and developing strategies to prevent a repeat. Erebus was a significant event in New Zealand's aviation history and if we are to learn from it, we must never forget what factors led to it.
The NZALPA website gives the opportunity for any visitor, whether child or adult, to study the event and come to their own conclusions. |
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| Visit Date: | 28/06/2009 |
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| Name: | John Blanch |
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| Location: | UK |
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| Comments: | Met Gordon years ago and was intrigued by the entire case. Also appalled by some of the behaviour of ANZ management at that time, and the air safety investigation approach that was at best simplistic. Very moved by Justice Mahon's phrase "orchestrated litany of lies". This must never be allowed to happen again. |
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| Visit Date: | 28/06/2009 |
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| Name: | George Webb |
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| Location: | Auckland |
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| Comments: | Very information and interesting site, congratulations on all the hard work to put it together. Thank you so much for providing this as a valuable resource. |
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| Visit Date: | 28/06/2009 |
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| Name: | Mauri |
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| Location: | Auckland |
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| Comments: | I disagree totally with this whole story. The simple causal aspect which led to this crash was the decision by Jim Collins to continue descent when he had not established the aircraft's position.
Note: (Comments of a personal nature have been edited from this posting.)
I was in Montreal at ICAO when the Mahon Report came out and the Head of Operations there said to me "What on earth is going on down there in NZ?' From Page 185 of my book "Noble Chance" I have long ago expressed my views regarding this whole sad event. I trust this "blog" will help some aspect of reality regarding aviation safety to become understood by the airmen of today; many of whom seem to have forgotten "airmanship" in favour of "playstation" attitudes. Maurice McGreal FRAeS |
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| Visit Date: | 27/06/2009 |
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