Factual Background

In a written synopsis of argument presented before this Court by counsel
for Air New Zealand it was said that background matters had to be
understood as they were entirely relevant to the complaints made by the
applicants in the present proceedings. But that "the Applicants do not
propose to canvass any factual matters which fall outside the range of
their specified allegations". In regard to that last matter we emphasize
again that this case (as counsel well realized) cannot be used to attack
the Royal Commission findings as to the cause of the crash. On behalf of
the applicants it was made clear nonetheless that their acceptance of
the jurisdictional bar to such a challenge in the Courts did not mean
and should not be used to draw any inference that they accepted the
causation findings themselves (at least in the unqualified form in which
they are set down in the Report). It is simply that they do all readily
accept as they must that in no sense can these proceedings become an
appeal against those findings. It is right to add that throughout the
hearing in this Court that attitude has very properly been reflected in
the submissions we heard. Thus the conclusions as to the cause of the
crash must and do stand.

Late in 1976 Air New Zealand decided to commence a series of
non-scheduled sightseeing journeys from New Zealand to the Ross
Dependency region and return to this country without a touch-down at any
intermediate point. They began with two flights in February 1977. There
were four further journeys in October and November 1977, four in
November 1978, and three more in November 1979--on 7th, 14th and 21st.
The accident flight was to be the fourteenth of the series. In 1977 the