Zephyrnet Logo

How A Goodbye Flypast Ended In Suspension For 2 Air Berlin Pilots

Date:

Former German carrier Air Berlin had an excellent safety record. Indeed, during nearly four decades of operations, the airline never experienced a fatal accident or an aircraft hull loss. However, it drew the attention of safety authorities in October 2017, just before it ceased operations, when two of its pilots performed a goodbye flypast.

Air Berlin Airbus A330 Getty
The incident occurred just 11 days before Air Berlin ceased operations. Photo: Getty Images

The flight and aircraft in question

The flypast in question took place on October 16th, 2017. This was just over a week before Air Berlin eventually ceased operations, on October 27th that year. At this point, the airline’s fate was clear, and long-haul flights were the first to stop. The last of these, and the flight which saw the flypast, was a service from Miami International (MIA) to Düsseldorf (DUS).

Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests.

The service, which was numbered AB7001, departed Florida on the evening of Sunday, October 15th, 2017. As is typical for most transatlantic services, it operated as an overnight flight, with its arrival in Germany set to take place the following morning. The plane used for Air Berlin’s last long-haul flight was an Airbus A330-200 registered as D-ABXA.

Air Berlin Airbus A330
D-ABXA wore a livery that celebrated Air Berlin’s oneworld membership. Photo: Eric Salard via Flickr

A farewell flypast

Air Berlin’s final long-haul service largely ran as smoothly as all of those that had come before it in the carrier’s 38-year operational history. However, when it came into land at Düsseldorf, its pilots undertook a rather unorthodox procedure involving a go-around.

Of course, go-arounds aren’t uncommon, and give pilots a second chance at landing if conditions are unsafe. However, this maneuver was not down to unsafe conditions, and was instead used by the jet’s pilots as a means of saying goodbye to Air Berlin. Reuters reports that there had been communication with air traffic control on the matter beforehand.

However, as seen in the video above, the go-around that they executed differed from the usual procedures in this regard. Involving a banked left turn, it brought the aircraft close to the airport’s control tower and terminal buildings. CBS reports that, when video footage of the ‘lap of honor’ emerged, German authorities sought clarification from Air Berlin.

Air Berlin Airbus A330
Air Berlin quickly suspended the pilots involved. Photo: Tomás Del Coro via Flickr

Suspension, investigation, and outcome

Two days after the incident, Air Berlin announced that it had suspended the pilots involved in the farewell flypast. A spokesperson for the carrier told Reuters that “In aviation, safety always comes first,” adding that Air Berlin was “taking the incident very seriously.” According to Global News, air traffic controllers were also questioned on the matter.

Meanwhile, one of the pilots from the flight, which had 223 passengers onboard, asserted that he “wanted to make a mark, a dignified and emotional goodbye” with the maneuver. Two months later, Reuters noted that an investigation found that those involved hadn’t broken any rules. This meant that the pilots involved avoided being fined for their actions.

What do you make of this incident? Do you remember it happening at the time? Let us know your thoughts and memories in the comments.

Source: https://simpleflying.com/air-berlin-goodbye-flypast-suspension/

spot_img

Latest Intelligence

spot_img