STRANGE BUT TRUE

Aircraft are forbidden from flying over India’s Taj Mahal or within a 7.4km radius of it, due to terrorism concerns. During World War 2, the memorial was nearly obliterated when a grossly overloaded transport plane, flown by the famous pilot-author Ernest K Gann, clawed for altitude after takeoff from Agra. Dropping the plane’s flaps, Gann cleared the main minaret by mere feet.