Seventeen years on from the fatal crash of an Air New Zealand test flight off the coast of France, former chief executive Rob Fyfe said the tragedy still lived with him — and always would.
The November 2008 crash killed seven people, including five New Zealanders, when an Airbus A320 plunged into the Mediterranean near Perpignan during a routine handover flight.
It was meant to be a straightforward check before the aircraft returned to service with Air New Zealand.
Former Air NZ boss reveals emotional toll of crash that defined his leadership - watch on TVNZ+
In this week's Newsmakers Revisited, Fyfe recalled the moment the first call came in from a pilot waiting in Frankfurt, expecting the aircraft to arrive from Perpignan.
"The aircraft hadn’t arrived… something had gone wrong," he told 1News.
"My heart just stopped, actually."
An hour and a half later, he was fronting the media despite having almost no information about what had happened.
"Our protocol was to make ourselves available… but we still didn’t know what had happened."
Although airlines drilled relentlessly for emergencies, the team was unprepared for an accident thousands of kilometres away, in a town the airline didn’t operate in.
"We had no familiarity with the region, no infrastructure, no people on the ground — no eyes and ears," Fyfe said.
The first major decision was whether Fyfe should stay in New Zealand to manage the growing media storm or travel to France to support families.
He chose France and phoned every family member before boarding.
"I talked to families individually, around 17 or 18 family members flew up with me," he said.
"There was a lot of emotion. A lot of tears. A lot of laughter too, sharing stories and memories, but it was tough. There were kids on that flight."
Once in France, a confronting reality was laid bare by a New Zealand disaster victim identification expert.
"He said, 'I just want to be clear — in an accident of this type, we're not looking for bodies. We might be lucky to find an elbow or a knee.'"
While he was shocked to hear that, he was surprised by the relief on the faces of families.
"I could see a sense of relief from people who were still harbouring hope that maybe their loved one had somehow survived. That taught me a lot about the importance of truth and transparency."
Asked where the crash sits among the challenges of his professional life, Fyfe said: "It's when you, as a person, really start to become defined. It touched me deeply… and it always will."
Even now, he stayed in touch with families of those who died.
"It's something I'll carry with me all my life."
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