新西兰英语 204 Erebus Crash – An apology from Air NZ

　　Nearly 30 years ago, 257 people lost their lives in the worst plane crash that Air New Zealand has ever had. The plane hit Mt Erebus in Antarctica and everyone was killed.
Today, the CEO of Air NZ, Rob Fife, showed a new sculpture outside the Air New Zealand building to remember the crash. He invited the families who had lost someone on that plane to see the sculpture. He spoke¹ to the families and apologized for the way Air NZ acted after the crash. He said that Air NZ had not given enough support to the families. At the time, Air NZ blamed the pilot. They said he had made a mistake but in an inquiry² later, a judge said Air NZ had told lies. The airline had made a computer mistake.
Today, Rob Fife said that the pilot and the flight crew – co-pilot and navigator – were excellent professionals. He said a crash is caused by many things not by one person. The families were pleased to hear these men praised for their skill.
That day, the 28th November, 1979, the plane had left Auckland early in the morning, stopped at Christchurch to pick up more passengers, then flew to Antarctica on a non-stop 11 hour trip. It was a sightseeing trip to see Antarctica from the air. However, because of a mistake, the plane took the wrong flight path and flew into the mountain.
Air NZ stopped sightseeing trips after that. Most New Zealanders remember or know about this terrible disaster.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。