Series traces Erebus events

Press, 9 October 1987, Page 11

Series traces Erebus events

NZPA Wellington’ Television New Zealand’s drama series on the Mount Erebus air disaster, which includes 50 major acting roles and involved 600 acting contracts excluding extras, begins later this month. "Erebus, The Aftermath” producer Caterina de Nave said the production had been expensive but she could not reveal the cost. The programme traced the events following the crash that killed. 257

people on November 28, 1979, including the royal commission of inquiry and subsequent Court of Appeal and Privy Council hearings, she said. Much of the programme detail was taken from public records and the book written by commission inquiry head, Mr Justice Peter Mahon. The four-part series also contained some new material on the police investigation into the crash. Ms de Nave said tele-

vision had contacted the relatives of people involved in the disaster to prepare them for the series and to try to avoid hurting people’s feelings. The series was essentially a mystery story in that it showed the unravelling of information, as seen through Mr Justice Mahon’s eyes, and while it was a drama it was based very closely on fact The volume of material available about the crash had been a problem.

“There are some 3000 pages of evidence in the royal commission and what we have tried to do is pick out those pieces of cross-examination which we think were of particular importance,” she said. “We added our own in-, terviews of some of the people involved to the material and have done research under the Official Information Act” The series attempted to show respect for those killed on the Erebus flight Ms de Nave said.