The pilots of an Air Berlin flight that performed a fly-past during the insolvent carrier’s last long-haul flight to its hub in Duesseldorf have been suspended, the airline said Wednesday. When coming into land from Miami on Monday morning, the A330 jet flew low across the runway, then pulled up and banked sharply to the left before landing on its second approach. Pilots are trained in such “go-around” procedures for aborted landings, but the manoeuvre was unusual and the German aviation authorities are investigating. “In aviation, safety always comes first. We are taking the incident very seriously,” an Air Berlin spokesman said. The Air Berlin pilot had requested permission from the tower to make a left turn should a go-around be necessary. “We wanted to make a mark, a dignified and emotional goodbye,” the Air Berlin pilot was quoted as saying by German broadcaster ZDF. His identity was not given.<br/>
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Malaysia Airlines' outgoing CE Peter Bellew said Wednesday his decision to leave the airline for Ryanair was due to a sense of responsibility to his native country. His departure after just over a year in charge means Malaysia's national carrier must appoint a third CE in three years as it continues to recover from two tragedies in 2014, when flight MH370 disappeared in mysterious circumstances and flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine. Ryanair announced on Tuesday that Bellew, its former director of flight operations, would be rejoining the Irish airline as chief operating officer on Dec. 1 to help address a pilot-staffing issue that has led to the cancellation of around 20,000 flights. Bellew, an Irish national, said his return to Ryanair was due to "love for country" and that he could not turn down a request to help the struggling airline. "It is Ireland's greatest company. They need my help and there is a big challenge. It is a form of national service," he said. Bellew refuted reports in Malaysian media saying that political interference had played a role in his departure.<br/>
The prospect of 20-hour, ultra-long-haul flights and how passengers will cope has provided impetus for a study of potentially tens of thousands of people. The University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre will study Qantas customers using wearable technology to find out how they respond to being in planes. Qantas chief customer officer Olivia Wirth said the airline's ambition of flying from the east coast of Australia to London and New York had added an additional level of research requirements around long haul flying. "It's an exciting new frontier and we are eager to see how we can improve our understanding by taking a more scientific approach to the onboard experience of our passengers," she said. Qantas and the centre have already worked together to influence cabin lighting, cabin temperature, meal timing and recipe development for the 787-9 Dreamliner which will fly the 17-hour Perth-London service from next March, as well as the design of the new transit lounge in the Western Australian city. Professor Steve Simpson, academic director of the centre, said the research would be cutting edge and translated directly to help passengers and crew cope with the long range flights which the Australian airline and some other carriers are planning.<br/>