28 November 2018
MEDIA RELEASE
November 28th is the day for all New Zealanders to stop and think about the importance of aviation safety.
New Zealand’s largest aviation union, E tū is today commemorating two aviation tragedies which happened on the same day
29 years apart.
In 1979, an Air New Zealand scenic flight over Antarctica crashed into Mt Erebus killing all 257 people on board
including 20 crew.
E tū aviation members and union representatives will attend the annual wreath-laying at the Erebus Crew Memorial garden
at Auckland Airport this afternoon.
There will be a minute’s silence at 1.49pm (12:49 NZST) – the time the crash occurred.
E tū’s Head of Aviation, Savage says the memorial remembers the crew who died there including 15 cabin crew who never
came home from work.
Today is also the 10th anniversary of the crash involving an Air NZ A320 which crashed off the coast of Perpignan in
France in 2008.
Five New Zealand aviation workers died in that crash including Air New Zealand engineers Murray White, Michael Gyles and
Noel Marsh.
“Just as we honoured the memory of the men who died at Pike River, so we should remember the people who died in the
Erebus tragedy and in the A320 crash,” says Savage.
“Air disasters are a tragedy for everyone involved but we should never forget that they are also workplace accidents.
“Our aviation industry connects us to the world. Our entire economy and the lives of workers and passengers alike is
dependent on maintaining the highest possible aviation safety standards”.
ENDS