The broadcaster believed confusion still reigned over why the DC-10 crashed into the side of a mountain, killing all 257 people on board.
Talking about the incident and the book, Daughters of Erebus, at an event in the Dunedin Public Library last night, Mr Holmes examined the technical detail of the crash, and the initial investigation which placed blame on pilots Captain Jim Collins and First Officer Greg Cassin.
"One of the reasons I wrote the book was to right an old wrong," he said.
The original "seven-month secret inquiry" concluded that the pilots were flying too low in poor visibility, taking both Air New Zealand and the Civil Aviation Authority "of the hook", he said.
However, the report "did not marry" with the reputation and experience of the pilots, so a royal commission of inquiry was launched with Justice Peter Mahon at the helm.
Justice Mahon found the destination co-ordinates were "central to the crash" as they were changed the night before the flight, and neither pilot was informed.
Along with the incorrect co-ordinates, the pilots fell victims to "a malevolent trick of the polar light" - whiteout - so they could only see a "great, flat expanse of white", Mr Holmes said.
However, the inquiry's report was "rubbished" and the original report held as official record. Mr Holmes said the original report was "dishonest" and a "cover-up".
As a consequence, the pilots' families had had "a hell of a hard row to hoe" and their stories were "deeply affecting".
The aim of the book was to share those stories, and "spell out, clearly and simply, once and for all . . . what happened to that aircraft".
He has also called for a Parliamentary exoneration of the pilots.
