
The Sightseeing Flight and the Invisible Mountain
From Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford by Pushkin Industries
March 27, 2026 · 40 min · Season 7 · Episode 13
About this episode
The episode explores the mysterious disappearance of Flight 901 over Antarctica and the subsequent investigation into human error and conflicting narratives.
In November 1979, Flight 901 departs New Zealand on a sightseeing journey over Antarctica, heading directly towards a volcano. When the plane vanishes, investigators are left with a mystery: how could a seasoned pilot miss a 12,000-foot peak? As they try to piece together the incident, conflicting stories emerge, key evidence disappears, and a troubling picture takes shape - one defined by human error, deceptive illusions, and the hunt for someone to blame. For a full list of show notes, see timharford.com . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Topics covered
- aviation
- human error
- investigation
- mystery
Keywords
- Flight 901
- Antarctica
- volcano
- investigation
- human error
Mentioned in this episode
Products: Flight 901
Places: New Zealand, Antarctica
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