The Sightseeing Flight and the Invisible Mountain

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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