Mount Erebus, the world’s southernmost active volcano, rises 12,448 ft on Ross Island, Antarctica. Continuously active since 1972, it is one of the few volcanoes with a persistent lava lake. Part of the Ring of Fire, its strombolian eruptions eject lava bombs onto the crater rim. Discovered in 1841 by James Clark Ross and named after his ship, Erebus is closely monitored by McMurdo Station, Antarctica’s largest settlement. Beneath its icy surface, volcanic caves host microbial life, hinting at p

The Mount Erebus disaster took place on November 28, 1979, when Air New Zealand Flight 901, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10, crashed into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica. The flight was a sightseeing trip to Antarctica, departing from Auckland, New Zealand, with 237 passengers and 20 crew members on board. The disaster was caused by a combination of factors, including a navigational error where the flight path was incorrectly programmed into the aircraft’s computer, leading the plane directly