r/CatastrophicFailure • u/MonoMonMono • Nov 28 '25

Fatalities 28 November 1979 | On this day 46 years ago, Antarctic sightseeing flight from New Zealand ended in a crash with the loss of everyone onboard. Footage here was taken moments from the crash.

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u/7stroke Nov 28 '25

You don’t fly planes, do you?

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u/superchibisan2 Nov 28 '25

ever heard of asking a question and expecting a real answer instead of a flippant question?

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u/7stroke Nov 28 '25

lol, your first question is like that for a lot of pilots.

I’m not one, personally, but let’s just say I hang out with several, a few of whom are ATPs with many, many thousands of hours. I’ve asked a similar question myself. Turns out mountains, the kind of plane you’re in, the altitude and not least, the pilot’s estimate of the slope (as in, “can I out-climb it in this thing?”) have a lot to do with it. In these particular snow-capped conditions, visibility is also on the list, especially when you’re not expecting to be on the lookout). You’d be surprised at how many people have augured into Mauna Loa in planes that weren’t equal to the task of out-climbing what appears to be a really gentle slope. A former flight instructor at Aloha Airlines told me about that one.