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On November 28, 1979, an airliner took off from Auckland Airport on a sightseeing trip to Antarctica.
There were 257 people on board. hours later everyone was dead.
Somehow, the plane had flown directly into the Erebus volcano. This was a disaster that shattered a country’s psyche.
In the decades since, grief gave way to blame, anger and recrimination. Who was responsible for so many deaths? Was there a cover-up? How could a plane just fly into a mountain?
In White Silence, Michael Wright and Katy Gosset explore why New Zealand’s deadliest disaster was also its most controversial; why a nation was incapable of moving on; and why it was captured by one famous phrase: ‘an orchestrated litany of lies’.
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White Silence: The Trailer
7 Nov 2019Stuff and RNZ's new podcast - White Silence. It was meant to be a once in a lifetime experience. But an Air New Zealand sightseeing flight to Antarctica ends in tragedy, killing 257 people. And the… Read more Audio
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White Silence: The Break In
8 Nov 2019On November 28, 1979, an Air New Zealand DC10 took off from Auckland Airport on a sightseeing trip to Antarctica. It never returned. What do the families remember of that fateful day?
White Silence.… Read more Video, Audio
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White Silence: The Caravan
9 Nov 2019257 people were dead. Whose fault was it? investigators sift through the evidence and come to a shocking conclusion. White Silence. No Survivors. No answer. Never-ending. Episode 2. Whose fault was… Read more Audio
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White Silence: All Hell
10 Nov 2019Episode 3: With the pilots' reputations in tatters, a second investigation unearths appalling mistakes and a sensational new theory for what caused the crash. Produced by Katy Gosset and… Read more Audio
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White Silence: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
11 Nov 2019Episode 4: 'An orchestrated litany of lies'. Justice Peter Mahon's words would prove the making of him and the ruin. Produced by Katy Gosset and Michael Wright. Read more Audio
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White Silence: New World Order
12 Nov 2019Episode 5: When the Mahon Report landed in 1981, the country was ready for its first big conspiracy theory. Produced by Katy Gosset and Michael Wright. Read more Audio
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White Silence: White Silence
13 Nov 2019Episode 6: 40 years later, there is still no consensus on what happened. Why has New Zealand been so unable to deal with this disaster? Produced by Katy Gosset and Michael Wright. Read more Audio
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White Silence: Playing Through (Bonus Episode)
28 Nov 2019Episode 7: 40 years on, the Erebus tragedy is not forgotten. New Zealanders come forward to share their own stories of the country's deadliest disaster. By Katy Gosset and Michael Wright. Read more Audio
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After 40 years, an apology to Erebus families
20 Dec 2019Episode 8: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to White Silence about her decision to say sorry to the families of the Erebus victims: “It all built a picture for me of unfinished business, and that… Read more Audio
White Silence
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