![]() Rescue workers at the site later described it as a hellhole. Of all possible places, a plane had crashed into the entrance of the Underworld, or perhaps it could be said to have rent an opening into the Underworld. The children of Erebus & Nyx (Night) include the illustrious line up of Hypnos (Sleep), Thanatos (Death) and Charon (the ferryman of the dead). The deepest region of Hades where the Titans were confined is known as Tartarus. Even more intriguing was finding that Erebus also refers to the region of the the Underworld, where the dead must first pass through, in essence the gateway to hell. I was intrigued to find that Erebus was the primordial darkness & shadow, the offspring of Chaos (the void from which all things originated). ![]() As mentioned earlier, in NZ, it is 'a name that stands in infamy'. While researching for my previous article I came upon a reference in Greek mythology to Erebus. The rainbow threads in this story create a densely woven fabric. His place was taken by his good friend & fellow explorer Peter Mulgrew. Sir Edmund Hillary who was to have been the narrator on this flight, pulled out due to other commitments (a strange sounding tale it would have been if the man who had climbed Mt Everest, died on Mt Erebus). At 3794m (12,448ft) it is the second highest volcano in the Antarctic). This moved the flight path 45km (27 miles) to the east and instead of flying over McMurdo Sound, the plane would cross Lewis Sound and fly directly over the top of Mt Erebus, the southernmost active volcano in the world. At 1.40am on the morning of 28th November, the flight co-ordinates for Flight TE901 were changed and no one was told. As well as a national tragedy there was knowing in hindsight, something that the crew did not. A friend dropped by today and said her parents knew someone who was on the plane, that was the feel at the time, somehow close & personal. I remember a radio being brought into my class at school so we could hear the updates. In 1979, we were more of a large community than a country, and Erebus 'rocked' us. NZ has always been somewhat isolated, tucked away at the end (or the beginning) of the world. In an instant that is still controversial, 257 people died. It remains the worst disaster in our country's history. ![]() On 28 November 1979, while on a sightseeing tour to the Antarctic, Flight 901 ripped through the slopes of Mt Erebus, killing everyone on board. Mention 'Erebus' to any New Zealander (who is old enough to remember 1979) and they will be able to tell you what they were doing when they heard about the crash. I dedicate this article to the country that is my home and the great land that lies at the bottom of the world.
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