Air tragedies remembered

Memorial services were held in Antarctica, France and New Auckland today to commemorate two Air New Zealand tragedies separated by 29 years.

Services were conducted in Auckland and Christchurch to remember the 30th anniversary of the Mt Erebus disaster in Antarctica and the loss a year ago of an aircraft off the south of France.

The Erebus tragedy, in which all 257 people on board a DC10 sightseeing flight from Auckland perished, was also marked at Scott Base by about 70 people including six who lost relatives in the crash.

A service conducted by the Very Reverend Peter Beck from Christchurch Cathedral inside the base was followed by a ceremony at the base's flagpole at 12.50pm -- the moment when Flight TE901 slammed into the foothills of the mountain.

Scott Base co-ordinator Yvonne Costar said it was a poignant ceremony with a period of silence and a wreath -- taken from the crash site to be "refreshed" -- laid by the flagpole.

A helicopter carrying the six family members had been prevented by high winds from landing at the site yesterday. But if the weather improves the wreath, along with a koru-shaped capsule containing messages from families, will be placed under the cross at the crash site on Monday.

"Peter Beck handed the sculpture, wreath and prayer over to us just in case they don't get to the crash site on Monday so we can take them there before the end of the season," Mrs Costar told NZPA.

Today the base was engulfed in fog, the mercury was at minus 5degC, "and it was blowing 15-20 knots, so it was pretty chilly", she said.

Earlier today, a ceremony was held in France to commemorate the first anniversary of the crash of an Air NZ Airbus.

The A320, which had been leased to German company XL Airways, was undergoing trials before being handed back to Air NZ.

During the flight, it plunged into the sea, claiming the lives of the five New Zealanders and two Germans on board.

About 20 relatives of the New Zealanders travelled to France for the commemoration.

At 3am (NZ time), they, colleagues of the men and officials from the city of Perpignan, attended the unveiling a greenstone plaque on the seawall at Canet-en-Rousillon.

They then travelled by naval vessel to the accident site, where wreaths were laid on the water for each of the seven men.

At 4.46am, the exact time of the crash, the boat's horn sounded seven times.

At the Auckland service, held in a courtyard in the company headquarters, chief executive Rob Fyfe again praised the French coastguard, police and others involved the aftermath of the incident.

"Air NZ will forever be indebted to those who faced extreme weather and sea conditions as they fought their way to the site immediately following the impact and for the subsequent efforts to recover our men and to search for clues as to what caused the accident," he said.

In reference to Erebus, Mr Fyfe repeated his apology of last month to those who had lost family members but did not receive the support and compassion they should have from the company in the days, months and years that followed.

"The airline made mistakes and undoubtedly let down people affected by the tragedy," he told several hundred packed in the courtyard.

"That weighs heavily on me as the current chief executive." He said one of the key lessons from Erebus was that nothing could turn the clock back or alter what caused an accident.

"But where we can make a difference is how we support those who suffer unimaginable loss of a dad, husband, partner, uncle, brother, son, colleague or best friend in tragic circumstances."

Dame Malvina Major sang at the Christchurch memorial service, attended by about 300 people at the airport, where government minister Gerry Brownlee gave the reading.