In 2009, then Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe apologised to the families of the victims. He admitted the airline had made mistakes in the aftermath of the tragedy and apologised to families who did not get enough support.

Despite the crash's place in our country's history, there is still no national memorial for the victims.

After consultation with the victims' families, it was recently announced that a national memorial is planned to be constructed in Auckland's Dove-Myer Robinson Park, better known as the Parnell Rose Gardens.

But that project too has been controversial, with locals saying it would destroy the ambience of the park.

The memorial would be funded by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and cost $3 million. It is called Te Paerangi Ataata - Sky Song.

Phil Stewart, whose aunt Dawn Matthews died in the incident, told The AM Show he was confident the right site had been chosen for the memorial.

"I don't think there'll ever be total agreement on what the appropriate place is, but I think the families are generally pretty happy with the process that went to picking the Parnell Rose Garden and I think Auckland's an appropriate place because it's probably where more families than anywhere else would be close to there."