They are often used for sightseeing flights. VFR are regulations for flying aircraft in conditions clear enough for the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC) are conditions in which pilots have sufficient visibility to fly the aircraft under visual flight rules (VFR). Most scheduled airline flights operate under IFR. IFR are regulations and procedures for flying aircraft by referring only to the aircraft instrument panel for navigation. Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC): conditions that normally require pilots to fly under instrument flight rules (IFR). Source: 'Timeline to disaster', URL:, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 1 Material presented at the briefing, including printouts of a flight plan used for a previous trip, gave the impression that the IFR route would take them down McMurdo Sound over flat sea ice. They were also advised of a visual meteorological conditions (VMC) let-down procedure which permitted them to descend to 6000 ft over McMurdo if visibility was good. This covered the instrument flight rules (IFR) route to the McMurdo area, which stipulated a minimum instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) altitude en route of 16,000 ft. On 9 November 1979, Captain Jim Collins and First Officer Greg Cassin, members of the flight crew rostered on Air New Zealand's 28 November Antarctic flight, attended a route qualification briefing. Air New Zealand Flight TE901 take off from Māngere Airport – 28 November 1979.This story on the Erebus air crash contains the following: Source: 'Antarctic flights', URL:, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 1 The first of its new DC-10s arrived in 1973, enabling the airline to make flights over the icy continent and return to New Zealand without landing, eliminating costs such as the need to provide of passenger facilities at McMurdo Station. It was unclear if flights would be economically viable under these conditions, and the airline deferred its plans until it had replaced its DC-8 fleet. When Air New Zealand first considered operating flights to Antarctica in the late 1960s, the airline discussed the conditions it would need to meet with the Ministry of Transport's Civil Aviation Division (CAD).
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