Thirty years ago this year, New Zealand had its worst air tragedy. On November 28, 1979, a DC-3 crashed into the side of Mt Erebus on Antarctica. All those on board were lost. They either died on impact, or burned in the resulting fire, or froze to death.
A couple of years ago I interviewed a former police officer who was one of those sent to help identify the bodies (and body parts) of the dead. Some of them could not be identified. The carnage he described was just horrifying.
Yet, thirty years later, it is still the most talked about event in New Zealand's recent past, because no one really knows what happened that day.
The trip over Mt Erebus was a sightseeing one for the passengers. There is still footage of those last few moments before the crash. It was a special occasion. There has never been another one since - I suppose the airline was afraid of it happening again.
What did cause the crash? Was it whiteout, bad navigation, pilot error? Who knows? The commission of enquiry into it at first blamed the pilot. The fact is, there is just too much we don't know about what happened.
A few weeks ago, there was an item on a current affairs show where two police officers described a notebook which had entries from the pilot. That notebook did show up at the enquiry, but not intact. Several pages of notes were missing. What happened to those notes, I wonder? Was there something incriminating in them?
Sadly, this is a mystery that may never be solved. And I feel for those left behind still questioning what happened and why their loved ones died. Most especially for the pilot's family, as he will never be able to defend himself.
I read a few days ago that a businessman had decided to offer a trip to Mt Erebus for the families, but at a cost, of course. I understand he's a businessman, but this was a tragic event for those concerned. It's a little bit like those who wanted to raise the Titanic many years ago. Is there a point to going? Maybe we should just let the dead rest in peace.
It's odd that I feel so strongly about this. I never knew anyone who was on that plane, or who lost a family member. But last week, while my mother was being admitted for surgery at a private hospital, I saw that a former member of the hospital board was killed at Erebus. And it gave me an odd feeling. Part of it is that, and this will sound really weird, but my mother believes she dreamed about the event before it happened. She has never had a dream like it since, but she has often described that dream to me in detail, of people looking out the windows. She didn't realise the significance of the dream until after the tragedy. And my mother is no crackpot. She genuinely believes she foresaw this event in her dreams.
I hope one day the answer to this mystery will be found, especially for those who lost loved ones.
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