Erebus tragedy 30 years on: Has Air NZ done enough?

28 Oct 2009 08:48p.m.

Venus wrote:

The book Verdict on Erebus showed the pilot was not to blame in my view, but Air NZ and others have yet to catch up.

Unless Air NZ fully admit their mistake with the flight path details, an apology is just nonsense.

There was definitely a cover up and until that is addressed, 'sorry' is not good enough.

Rob Fyfe has a tough job ahead of him. But he has to realise that this issue will not go away until all the details have been revealed.

It is so easy to say sorry, but very hard to tell the truth.

Discovering the truth will be difficult, but it needs to be done.

And the first moves toward discovering the truth rest with Air NZ.

28 Oct 2009 11:47a.m.

peter wrote:

I still feel sorry for all who lost loved ones,but still think a cover up was not un-earthed. Well done to air NZ of today for saying sorry,but in todays world every body seems to need counselling every time something goes wrong ,lets try and toughen up a bit this generation sure needs it

26 Oct 2009 12:24a.m.

hereNthere wrote:

'sorry!?'also the head of airNZ says "this was a tragedy to airNZ" the true tragedy to airNZ was and is the lies and cover ups, the 'real'tragedy was and still is,the lose of lives....(two professional and expert pilots,staff and passengers)....and the affect these deaths still has concerning the families of the deceased. What happened to the captains diary?? in my experience only the guilty say 'sorry'also God bless the memory of chief justice Mann.

25 Oct 2009 10:50p.m.

abricossow wrote:

What Rob Fyfe has done is awesome - as for Air NZ -its too little too late. If Air NZ (and the government of the time who were party to all the orchestrated litany of lies) really want to do something meaningful, they should fly all the Family members and the Police members who recovered the bodies back to Antarctica for final closure. Lets not be talking about bureaucracy and cost here - lets just be talking about what is right -albeit 30 years late....the cost in its entirety to be met by Air NZ and the government - not 1 cent to be paid by those who grieve. Now theres a worthwhile use for my tax dollar.

24 Oct 2009 07:31a.m.

Alan wrote:

I suspect that Rob Fyfe is having to tread a fine line between making a full apology and potentially opening the company up to litigation if there was more acknowledgment of Air New Zealand's part in the disaster itself. (I don't know - I'm not a lawyer.) My suspicion is that if it would have been safe to do so for the company, he might have recognised Air New Zealand's responsibility for changing the flight track and not telling the crew, thus putting Collins and Cassin in a position they should never have been in: flying directly towards the mountain while 'knowing' their track was taking the down the safe open skies of McMurdo Sound. Fyfe's gesture yesterday, while long overdue from the airline, is another indication of the character of this CEO. While I can understand Maria Collins's need to struggle on for the vindication of the crew's actions (and hopefully this will eventually come), yesterday's apology is at last some recognition of the debacle of the company's actions and lack of actions in the months and years since November 1979. Well done Rob Fyfe, and to all who've brought the airline to this point. Given that Air New Zealand was completely government owned at the time (if my memory serves me rightly) it would be good to see today's government pitch in with a similar gesture and offer to fund more of the victims' families to fly to Erebus on November 28th. Yes to do so would be expensive, but not prohibitively so: to rent a couple of chinooks from the RAAF and fly them south on C-17s and thus allow upwards of 40 family members to go, would undoubtedly cost several million dollars, but in terms of acknowledging and healing wounds from NZ's largest peacetime disaster, I think it would be money well spent. How about it Mr Key?

24 Oct 2009 01:03a.m.

Miss Brodie wrote:

Shouldn't journalists at least grammar check the first paragraph? You really can not start that type of sentence with "Or" and it's actually not 30 years to late, that implies 30 years on the way to late, you meant "too late". Otherwise an excellent piece of snivellingly brilliant kick someone for trying to make a gesture and apologise journalism.

23 Oct 2009 07:34p.m.

jenni wrote:

That interview with Rob Fyfe was inspiring. He shows integrity, and is a good communicator. He comes across as a really good man. Like you . Thank you

Jenni Moore

23 Oct 2009 06:57p.m.

katrina wrote:

It is not Air NZ's Arrogance. This happened 30 years ago!! Things were different. These days there are more systems in place and awareness and social responsibilty. Move on.

23 Oct 2009 05:51p.m.

Chris wrote:

30 years later! This is appalling. I feel sorry for the hundreds of family members who were put through this crap for so long by Air NZ's arrogance.

23 Oct 2009 05:49p.m.

Nikolai wrote:

I'm so pleased Air New Zealand has finally done the right thing and said 'sorry'.