This meant that most men were mentally affected in some way. Very few men were mentally prepared for the gruesomeness of Operation Overdue. Trying to scare the gulls away had no effect, so instead the men settled for gathering the bagged body parts and creating 11 large piles of human remains scattered around the site where the men ate and slept. Some men were affected mentally, watching the Skua gulls eat the deceased right in front of their eyes. Unable to wash dishes and cutlery, men instead passed on their dirty plates to the next men who needed to eat. There was very little water at the camp site, the men had a water bowl that they all shared to wash their hands before eating. Men were also required to dig out bodies if the body had been underneath a piece of debris. There was always someone working, the men scheduled a 24 hour shift where some men would be on for 12 hours, then the other men would go on for the next 12 hours. Men camped amidst the debris and dead bodies.
Though the operation proved to be successful, those who made the operation possible also suffered. 22 years after his death, he was awarded the Jim Collins Memorial Award by the New Zealand Airline Pilots Association for exceptional contributions to air safety, “in forever changing the general approach used in transport accidents investigations world wide.” Mahon died due to heart failure in August 1986. The book also won a non fiction prize at the New Zealand Book Awards in 1985. Mahon had written a book called Verdict on Erebus which was an account of his inquiry. Mahon stating that the Air New Zealand executive had told ‘an orchestrated litany of lies.’
Judge Peter Mahon then claimed that Air New Zealand covered up any evidence about the disaster and lied to investigators. The change of the coordinates was unknown to the crew and the McMurdo Station control. This report cleared the crew of the blame that many had put on them, and instead put forward that the main cause of the crash was a reprogramming of the flights navigation computer. On the 27th of April 1981, Judge Peter Mahon constructed his report on the incident, revealing that the crash was not due to pilot error.
When the main cause of the crash was announced as pilot error, the public called for a Royal Commission Inquiry into the incident. Peter Thomas Mahon, a New Zealand high - court judge was affected greatly by the Erebus Disaster.
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