Issue of renaming Simferopol Airport unsettled (PHOTOS)

Society - 23 January 2012, Monday 16:32

AQMESCIT/ SIMFEROPIL (QHA) - The initiative group of the Crimean Tatar aviators ‘Vatan Qanatları’ (‘Wings of Motherland’) keep insisting on consideration by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the issue of awarding the name of the USSR Twice Hero Ametkhan Sultan to the Simferopol International Airport.
The group sent a respective letter to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (VR ARC), Volodymyr Konstiantynov.
The letter reads that two years have passed since the group appealed to the VR ARC to award Ametkhan Sultan’s name to the airport, but there are still no results.
Nuri Beitullah, the Head of the ‘Vatan Qanatları’ initiative group, recalled that after the election of new VR ARC membership in 2010, deputies Refat Çubar and Remzi İlâs registered a new draft decree on the issue, however, it remains unconsidered.
It should be noted that the letter was sent to the Crimean Speaker on the eve of the 41st anniversary of Ametkhan Sultan’s death.

Reference: Ametkhan Sultan (25 October 1920, Alupka, Crimea – 1 February 1971 Moscow) was a Crimean Tatar fighter and test pilot.
He received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union twice. During World War II, he participated in 150 air combats with 30 enemy planes downed individually and 19 in group, flying, amongst other planes, a colourful P-39 Airacobra. After World War II, he became a test pilot. He met his unfortunate demise in a plane crash on February 1, 1971. During his lifetime, he was known to have personally tested over 100 planes.

Hayder Hacımambet – Aliye Bekir
 
QHA