The integrity of the pilot who captained the Mt Erebus flight 30 years ago is still very much on the line, his wife says.
Maria Collins says Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe’s apology was to the families of those who lost loved ones in the Erebus tragedy, but it did not address the damage done to her husband’s reputation.
“I have my private hopes but an apology forced from someone else is not a true apology. It has to be sincerely given,” Mrs Collins said.
“My husband’s integrity is still very much on the line and I’m still keen to see that intact again.”
Jim Collins was originally blamed for causing the crash in which 257 people lost their lives while on an Air New Zealand DC-10 sightseeing trip to Antarctica.
However, a subsequent royal commission of inquiry led by Justice Peter Mahon disagreed.
The inquiry placed the blame on Air New Zealand and its systems.
Justice Mahon accused company executives and management of “an orchestrated litany of lies” in covering up evidence and misleading crash investigators.
By: Arabella-Cox - 29th October 2009 at 09:59
It beats me that ANZ can’t apologise properly to Maria Collins.
As I think I’ve said before, I remember clearly the crash happening and the lengthy aftermath. I grew up in NZ and was 13 in 1979.
Throughout the entire process, ANZ’s representatives seemed slimy, dishonest and evasive. Peter Mahon was right.
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October 29, 2009 at 12:14 am