As the 40th anniversary of the Erebus disaster nears, two widows left behind tell their stories of the aftermath.
This story is part of White Silence, a six-part podcast series from Stuff and RNZ to mark the 40th anniversary of the Erebus disaster. You can listen to White Silence on Stuff, or via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or any other app using the RSS feed. The episodes are released daily from Friday, November 8.
Captain Jim Collins
Photo: Fairfax Media NZ
Jim and Maria Collins had been together for nearly 20 years when Jim was killed on 28 November 1979.
They had four daughters and a life together, then one day Jim was gone – killed in the Erebus disaster.
Like the families of the 256 other victims, the Collins grieved, but they had to worry about something else as well.
Jim was the captain of Air New Zealand flight TE901 when it crashed into the slopes of Mt Erebus in Antarctica, killing all 257 people on board. He was the man in charge…
