Air NZ apologises over 1979 Antarctic crash

October 23, 2009 02:46:14 PM

• A⁺ 
• A^-
• |
• 
• |
• 
• |
• 

Air New Zealand apologised Friday for its treatment of families of 257 people killed on a sightseeing flight to Antarctica 30 years ago.

"I can't turn the clock back, I can't undo what has been done but as I look forward I would like to start the next step on our journey by saying sorry," the airline's chief executive Rob Fyfe said.

"Sorry to all of those who lost a loved one or were affected by this tragedy and did not receive the support and compassion they should have from Air New Zealand."

Fyfe was speaking in Auckland at the unveiling at the company's headquarters of a memorial sculpture commemorating the loss of all passengers and crew when the Douglas DC10 crashed into Antarctica's Mount Erebus on November 28, 1979.

"Air New Zealand inevitably made mistakes and undoubtedly let down people directly affected by the tragedy," Fyfe said.

The worst aviation disaster in New Zealand history was mired in controversy after a judicial inquiry overturned an earlier finding of pilot error and blamed the airline for incorrectly programming the aircraft's navigational computers.

Maria Collins, the widow of the aircraft's captain Jim Collins, said she hoped Air New Zealand would go further in its apologies.

"My husband's integrity I feel is still very much on the line and I'm still keen to get that made intact again," Collins told Radio New Zealand.

Margaret Modricker said her mother, Jean Holloway, was 64 when she was killed in the crash and the airline had done very little for her family afterwards.

"They sent a bouquet of flowers to our home, that was it. It was not enough," she said.