Volcano Grounds British Planes (and others)!

I never really expected to see volcanoes affect us here in Britain...but it is happening now! The eruption of an Icelandic volcano has resulted in a cloud of volcanic ash spreading south-east over Britain and some of Northern Europe. All flights to and from Britain have been grounded because volcanic ash can seriously damage planes. This was first discovered in 1982 when a British Airways jumbo jet lost ALL FOUR ENGINES when flying through the ash plume over Indonesia. Fortunately after gliding for about 20 - 30 minutes the crew were able to restart the engines and get the plane back to the airport safely! Having seen the programme "Air Crash Investigation" (on the National Geographic Channel), the current flight restrictions are perfectly reasonable - the engines of the BA Jumbo were scrapped and the fuselage and windscreens severely 'sand blasted'!

Your Friday questions are: -

1. Who was born Joseph Ratzinger in Bavaria today in 1927?
   
   
2. Who launched the Royal Yacht Britannia (below) today in 1953?

   
3. What was the last pitched battle to be fought on mainland Britain today in 1746 in Scotland?
   

Yesterday's Answers: 1. Washington DC; 2. "Bewitched"; 3. McDonalds

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