Air New Zealand Flight 901 and Polar Whiteout

Scientific Essay from the year 2019 in the subject Geography / Earth Science - Regional Geography, grade: 10.0, language: English, abstract: On 28 November 1979 on a sightseeing flight to Antarctica, the Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashed on the slopes of Mount Erebus. All 237 passengers and 20 crewmembers perished on the impact. Two investigations that followed both agreed that due to the Polar Whiteout the crewmembers of Flight 901 had not seen the mountain. This article offers a discussion on whiteouts in general and in regards to the accident. It explores other phenomena that could have led to the tragedy, namely spatial disorientation illusions.