80 selected for Erebus flight

Family members of crew from flight TE901 listen to Air NZ chief executive Rob Fyfe make a speech at a rememberance service to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Erebus crash in 1979. Photo / NZ Herald

Eighty people who lost family members in the 1979 Erebus tragedy will travel to Antarctica on a remembrance flight this summer after their names were drawn in a ballot.

A Royal New Zealand Air Force Boeing 757 will fly to Scott Base this summer, enabling family representatives to spend a few hours experiencing the unique environment that drew those on flight TE 901 to it almost 31 years ago, Air New Zealand said in a statement today.

The ballot, open to the immediate families of the 257 passengers, cabin crew and flight crew lost in the tragedy, drew nearly 200 applications representing 126 of those lost to Erebus, and was drawn on September 20.

Some of those successful in the ballot lost more than one family member in the tragedy and the 80 represent more than 100 of the Erebus victims.

Last year Air NZ took six family members of victims on a memorial flight on the 30th anniversary of the disaster.

The airline has since been working with the Government, RNZAF and Antarctica New Zealand on a further Antarctic opportunity for family members who lost loved ones.

The provisional date range is February 11-20, 2011, although the date for the flight is still to be confirmed.

At this stage it is expected that family representatives will be able to remain on the ground for several hours at Scott Base, where they will receive a briefing and participate in a memorial service at the Scott Base flagpole.

- NZPA