out in the cockpit. [ siren sound ] the flight engineer starts to read off their altitude. 500 feet. 400 feet. captain collins realizes something is terribly wrong and calls for maximum thrust. the jet s nose tilts up 10 degrees and they start to climb. but as they pull up, the dc-10 s underbelly and wings gouge into the slope of mount erebus an active volcano. at 300 miles per hour. 70,000 tons of jet fuel ignite the cabin. the tail engine breaks off and roars with a horrifying trail of burning wreckage. deputy police officer ted robinson radios the crew. he s met with an eerie silence.
remote and forbidding places on earth, antarctica. ladies and gentlemen, the aircraft is just over 10,000 feet. dave was excited to think that he was the commentary on board that would them all about it. but today the earth isn t cooperating. majestic 12,000 foot mount ereb u s is shrouded in clouds. collins asked air traffic control if it s possible to make his descent. they got destructions at jim s request to circle lower and be able to show their passengers something of the area. 237 passengers are straining to get a glimpse of land marks, like the station they should be seeing any minute. when suddenly, the ground proximity warning system blares
ladies and gentlemen, the aircraft is just over 10,000 feet. dave was excited to think that he was the commentary on board that would them all about it. but today, the weather isn t cooperating. majestic 12,000 foot mount airbus is shrouded in clouds. collins asked air traffic control if it s possible to make his descent. they got destructions at jim s request to circle lower and be able to show their passengers something of the area. 237 passengers are straining to get a glimpse of land marks, like the station they should be seeing any minute. when suddenly the warning system blares out in the cockpit. [siren sound] the flight engineer starts to read off their altitude. 500 feet.
erubis. i kept a log of everyone that was out and what they were doing just for safety sakes. 40 minutes from their frozen destination, passengers on flight 901 are standing at the windows, eager for their first glimpse at the endless expanse of ice. captain collins radios robinson to find out about the current weather conditions and learns there s a huge problem. that particular day the mountain was completely whited out. robinson cautions captain collins about the low cloud cover that descend to 2,000 feet. i was keen to let him know that he shouldn t come anywhere near ross island. robinson recommends making a short detour west over the mainland where the weather is much better. that s where mountaineer keith
westward is located. we were 150 kilometers away. we were in brilliantly fine weather. but captain collins ignores robinson s advice and just after noon he begins his descent. air traffic control confirms a low overcast and reports of light snow. but below the clouds visibility is about 40 miles. collins announces to passengers he s hopeful he can descend low enough to give them a good view of ross island. he spots a hole in the cloud cover and is cleared by air traffic control for a visual descent. but the four-man crew is having trouble spotting landmarks through the clouds as peter malgrew walks up to the cockpit. peter malgrew asked why