Qantas sought early Antarctic briefing

Press, 16 December 1980, Page 3

Qantas sought early Antarctic briefing

PA Auckland The United States commander of flying operations at McMurdo Station told the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Mount Erebus DC 10 crash that Qantas sought an up-to-date briefing on Antarctic flying seven weeks: before the Air New Zealand crash. Commander Andre Coltrim expressed/surprise that Air New. Zealand had not joined Qantas in seeking the briefing. These details were released yesterday by the oneman commission, Mr Justice Mahon, in presenting a report resulting from his visit to the United States to talk with United States Navy personnel who were at McMurdo Station at the time of the crash, and with manufacturers, including the Ventix Corporation, which made the DCIO weather radar. \The inquiry’s terms of reference require a finding on whether there was any act or omission on the part of

1 McMurdo Station air-traffic control at the time of the ' crash. His Honour said the ! United States Navy controllers said they had not expected the arrival of flight \ 901 over the top of Mount ■ Erebus. They expected the aircraft to fly down McMurdo Sound, conforming to pre--1 vious flight paths in 1979 I and 1978. Commander Coltrim declined to express a view . on whether he would agree . to a proposal to fly over Mount Erebus, but the chief warrant officer in charge of air-traffic control at the • time said he . would have i objected to this flight path, . and to the 6000 ft descent ! sector proposed by the .airi line. The DCIO was at no time i seen on the McMurdo Sta- • tion radar screen. His Honour said the ■ United States ' Navy coni trailers did not have author- ; ity to control the flight. ’ They believed themselves to

: have only an advisory function. He said his talks with the Ventix Corporation showed that the. type of weather radar fitted to the DCIO would not be relied on to give a good image of Ross Island. t It was likely that Ross Isi land would show up with an • image similar to that of pack ice, rather than as . solid terrain. A ’ following flight by a United States Cl4l Starlifter , aircraft had reported a good ! radar return from Ross Is- > land. However, the Cl4l was 1 fitted with a less sophis- , ticated radar than the DCIO ■ but one more capable pf showing up polar terrain. t His Honour, accompanied ■ by counsel assisting the inquiry, Mr W. D. Baragwa- , nath, took evidence from ’ witnesses in California and Florida. United States military per- ’ sonnel are not allowed to testify outside the United States jurisdiction on in- ’ quiries directly involving them as parties.