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What did Ukraine settle in late October 2019?
Summary
A look back at a renamed town and the closing of an air accident inquiry, as reported in the days before 2 November 2019.
What had Ukraine's institutions concluded by 2 November 2019? Two items from the preceding days stand out: a change to a town's name and the end of an air accident investigation.
On 30 October 2019, the Verkhovna Rada renamed the city of Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi as Pereiaslav. The decision shortened the name of the place to a single word.
A day earlier, on 29 October 2019, the National Bureau of Air Accidents Investigation of Ukraine concluded its investigation into South Airlines Flight 8971. The Bureau stated that the accident was caused by the pilot's excessive speed reductions as he attempted to land in weather conditions beyond his qualifications.
The crash behind the findings
The flight in question was an Antonov An-24 passenger aircraft. It crashed on landing at Donetsk International Airport on 13 February 2013. Five of the 52 people on board were killed. The Bureau's conclusion on 29 October 2019 therefore came after the case had been open for more than six years.
The finding put the cause on the pilot's handling of the approach: speed reductions that were excessive, in weather the pilot was not qualified to fly in.
Two decisions, one week
The two items are unrelated in subject. One was a legislative act on place names; the other was a technical conclusion about a fatal landing. Together they mark the end of the last days of October 2019 as a period in which Ukrainian bodies closed matters, one by vote and the other by investigation.
