I’m just now catching up on all this volcano business. While it seems ridiculous that all of Europe is grounded, “The Middle Seat Terminal” reminds us that it’s for a good reason
Consider a British Airways 747 flying near Jakarta, Indonesia in June 1982 at 37,000 feet. It flew into an unreported ash cloud from the Mount Galunggung volcano. Engines flamed out and the plane went silent. Ash filled the cabin through air vents, and sandblasted the cockpit window to obscure visibility. For 13 terrifying minutes, the plane glided to 12,000 feet before the crew was able to restart three of the four engines and land at Jakarta.