Cockpit voice recorder transcripts from the last minutes of the flight before impact with Mount Erebus indicated that the flight crew believed they were flying over McMurdo Sound, well to the west of Mount Erebus and with the Ross Ice Shelf visible on the horizon, when in reality they were flying directly toward the mountain.
As transcricións da gravadora de voces de cabina dos últimos minutos do voo antes do impacto co monte Erebus indicaron que a tripulación cría que estaban voando sobre o estreito de McMurdo, moi ao oeste do monte Erebus e coa barreira de xeo de Ross visible no horizonte, cando en realidade voaban directamente cara á montaña.