Evidence of low flights—counsel

Press, 9 July 1983, Page 7

Evidence of low flights— counsel

NZPA staff correspondent London Ten Air New Zealand pilots had flown below 6000 ft in the Antarctic, before the Mount Erebus crash in 1979, the Privy Council was told yesterday in London.

But eight Air New Zealand witnesses, including its former Chief Executive, Mr M. R. Davis, had said they were unaware of these flights below 6000 ft, Sir Patrick Neill, Q.C., said. “It may be that one or two in the Air New Zealand team said ‘we had heard a rumour but took no action’,” he said. Sir Patrick is appearing for the Mount Erebus Royal Commissioner, Mr Peter Mahon, who is appealing to the Privy Council against the New Zealand Court of Appeal decision quashing his

order that Air New Zealand pay $150,000 towards the cost of the inquiry. He spent a good part of his address to the judicial committee yesterday going over evidence given to the Royal Commission about flights below 6000 ft. Mr Mahon, in his report, had rejected evidence by Air New Zealand executive pilots that they had no specific knowledge of Antarctic flights operating below 6000 ft, the minimum safe altitude specified by the Civil Aviation Division. He said he believed the management of the airline and its Flight Operations Division were aware from November, 1977, onwards, that airline pilots on Antarctic flights were flying at levels ranging from 1500 ft to 3000 ft. Lord Keith, one of the

. Law Lords hearing the ap- | peal, asked Sir Patrick if he

could provide details of how many pilots had said they understood it was all right to fly below 6000 ft. Sir Patrick produced a list after the lunch adjournment naming 10 pilots and Mr R. B. Thomson, superintendent of the Antarctic Division of the D.5.1.R., who had testified that he had been on Air New Zealand flights which had flown at under 6000 ft. He gave the names of eight Air New Zealand witnesses. including Mr Davis.

and Captain lan Gemmell, the airline’s chief pilot at the time of the crash, who had given evidence that they were unaware of flights below 6000 ft. Sir Patrick said Mr Davis had testified that he did not remember reading a report in “Air New Zealand News,” dated November 30, 1978, which described Captain Doug Keesing, then the Director of International Flight Operations, flying as a passenger as a DCIO “cruised at 2000 ft past the

Antarctic’s Mount Erebus.” Mr Davis had told Mr Mahon that he believed he would have investigated the matter if he had seen the article. He had also said he did not remember reading an article by the McDonnellDouglas president, Mr John Brizendine, which described flying on an Antarctic flight at 3000 ft. Mr Mahon had been told the Mr Davis had personally arranged the flight for Mr Brizendine, who sent him a copy of the article. Mr Davis had said he was “as certain as I can be” that he had not read the article. Sir Patrick said it would be hard to find an issue which was “more squarely out on the table” at the Mount Erebus inquiry than whether there had been low flying by Air New Zealand and whether witnesses were telling lies or not.

But he said this had not been discussed in the Court of Appeal judgment. The only reference he could find was a passage in the judgment which said: "It is possible that some individual witnesses did give some false evidence during the inquiry.” Sir Patrick said that, to the best of his knowledge, the appeal judges had not gone into the conspiracy which Mr Mahon said he had found in evidence about low flying. The’ hearing was adjourned to Monday.