WITH the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sulawesi kicking off on April 16 and the subsequent upending of the travel plans of many due to all the airport closures and cancelled flights, it is only natural that many have questioned the need for such measures.
Claire O Donnell (right) was a stewardess on board British Airways Flight 009, which was crippled by a cloud of volcanic ash in 1982 and appeared destined to crash into the sea.
Since the beginning of commercial aviation, thousands of planes have crashed all over the world, with tens of thousands of people injured or killed. When