But on that day in 1979, things would go very wrong.

At around noon, the pilot Capt Jim Collins flew two large loops through the clouds to bring the plane down to about 2,000ft 
(610m) and offer his passengers a better view. Assuming he was on the same flight path as previous flights and over the vast 
McMurdo Sound, he wouldn't have foreseen any problems.

On board the DC 10, people were busy taking photographs or filming in the cabin and out of the windows. Many of these 
photos were later found in the wreckage and could still be developed, some of them taken seconds before the crash.