Sat, 28 Nov 2009 6:31p.m.
By Juanita Copeland
The families of the Air New Zealand staff killed in a plane crash off the coast of France have been back to the site exactly one year on from the tragedy.
The Air New Zealand A320 Airbus nose-dived into the Mediterranean Sea a year ago killing the two German pilots and Kiwis Captain Brian Horrell, Noel Marsh, Michael Gyles, Murray White and Jeremy Cook.
The families of the five kiwis killed in the Airbus crash have been remembering their loved ones exactly one year on from the tragedy.
The visit followed an emotionally-charged ceremony on the beach at Canet.
Today the official one year anniversary of the Airbus crash was marked by the unveiling of a memorial on the beach at Canet.
It faces directly out to the site where the Air New Zealand A320 airbus crashed one year ago today.
When these families stood on Canet beach a year ago, they were in a haze of sorrow and shock, one year on the grief is still crippling but now there is a solid memorial to their loss.
Deputy chief executive of Air New Zealand Norm Thompson says there is now a “very special piece of stone for seven very special people”.
The families of three of the five New Zealand victims are in the south of France for the anniversary, so too are the widows of the German pilots.
Noel Marsh's wife Tracey was pregnant this time last year, this is her first visit to Perpignan and the presence of her 10-month-old daughter Katie, who never met her Dad, and the paintings from the couple's two young sons provide a harrowing reminder of what the families have lost.
The crash brought France and New Zealand together, a bond that is reflected in the monument that's been crafted from local stone inlaid with New Zealand West Coast Pounamu.
Jocelyn Hodapp from the Canet mayors office says, “it was hard for us and that's why we try to be involved in the ceremony and in all the investigation and to help the families”.
There was no mayday call when the Air New Zealand A320 airbus nose-dived into the Mediterranean Sea a year ago, killing the German pilots and Kiwis Captain Brian Horrell, Noel Marsh, Michael Gyles, Murray White and Jeremy Cook.
Like the families, the men's 10,500 colleagues dubbed "Air New Zealanders" are still waiting to find out what happened and have been shattered by the crash.
“People reflect and remember the boys that's we've lost and we really have pulled together closer as a family as a result,” says Mr Thompson.
After the monument was unveiled the families boarded the same coastguard and navy vessels that searched for their men and went to the crash site.
At 4:46pm – the exact time of the crash – the German families gathered on the beach and the bell aboard the navy mine sweeper tolled seven times.
Maggi Wride, Jeremy Cook’s sister, says it was a blessing to have her baby with her.
“The nice thing about today is we had Katie the baby who’s been born since the tragedy and it just shows you the old message that life does go on and that's also good to remember I think.”
Mrs Wride says visiting the site is a surreal experience because it is difficult to understand how such a beautiful place could have been the scene of such devastation.
For most of the families, their visit to the south of France ends today and this will not be an annual pilgrimage for them, but there is no denying that these families are forever linked to this place.
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