Mr Thomson writing book

Press, 21 June 1980, Page 1

Mr Thomson writing book

‘ Mr R. B. Thomson, the superintendent of the Antarctic Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, plans to publish a book later this year about his experiences as leader of the rescue mission after the DC 10 crash in Antarctica last November. The book should help any future rescue teams, should a similar accident occur in the Antarctic, he said. Mr Thomson’s impression was that the flight crew placed too much reliance on their instruments, and neglected features which they could see in front of them. Rec-

ognising these features was ?“a matter of experience.”

Having more experienced people on board could have helped “a .litt]e,” but unless they had 'been to Antarctica many times, and were fully conversant with the features, they could still have been misled, said Mr Thomson. “It taices many many years to gather that sort of experience.” Even with these qualifications, he said, there was no reason to discontinue + he scenic flights to the Ice “provided that all things which should have been done and are usuaily done, are done.” It has still to be decided whether the book will be published as an official

D.S.I.R. report or as a personal account. The decision will be made by his superiors in the D.S.I.R. If the book is published commercially, it will most likely go 'to Penguin Books (N.Z.), Ltd, although no contract has been signed. Penguin’s plan to release the book on September 30 as a paperback, which would be followed by a hardback. The date of release would depend on when the Commission of Inquiry’s report was issued, Mr Thomson said. The report would have to be released first.