The four men were welcomed home at an emotional ceremony soon after their plane touched down in Auckland, nearly two months after the Air New Zealand Airbus 320 they were flying in plunged into the sea off the coast of Perpignan, France.
The four victims whose bodies arrived today were Captain Brian Horrell, 52, from Auckland, Christchurch engineers Michael Gyles, 49, and Noel Marsh, 35, and Civil Aviation Authority airworthiness inspector Jeremy Cook, 58, of Wellington.
The Air NZ 747 carrying the men's bodies touched down shortly before 11am today. The coffins were taken into an Air NZ hangar about midday, where a private ceremony was held.
Dave Dobbyn performed his song Welcome Home as the coffins arrived, draped in the New Zealand flag and floral bouquets.
Air NZ chief executive Rob Fyfe paid tribute to the men, and to Murray White, 37, whose body has yet to be found.
"We mourn their loss and our hearts go out to the family of Murray White, who remains missing," Mr Fyfe said.
"I know all New Zealanders will join us in expressing their deepest sympathies to those who have lost fathers, sons, husbands, brothers, friends and colleagues as they make their final journey today."
Families of the four men, friends and several hundred colleagues were at the ceremony, which ended about 1pm. The families then took the bodies of the men in hearses to begin the journey to the coffins' final resting places.
Two of the coffins will remain in Auckland and the other two will go to Christchurch.
Mr Fyfe passed on condolences from Prime Minister John Key and the Civil Aviation Authority before the Air NZ kapa haka group paid their own tribute.
Two German pilots who were flying the plane also died in the crash.
The three-year-old Airbus A320 was on final acceptance flights and was due to be handed back to Air New Zealand after a two-year charter to the German company XL Airways. It has just been repainted in Air New Zealand livery.
Investigators believe the plane had a power surge which put it into a climb from which it could not recover and it plunged nose first into the sea on November 28.
The crash was 29 years to the day after New Zealand's worst air disaster when an Air New Zealand DC10 hit Mt Erebus in Antarctica, killing all 257 passengers and crew.
Meanwhile, acting coroner Gordon Matenga said today he had opened an inquiry into the men's deaths as it was a matter of public interest and concern.
