It’s the kind of mid-air drama that you might find in an action movie, but it really happened last week in the skies above North Yorkshire.Details are only now beginning to emerge about the amazing rescue, when an RAF pilot flying a 600mph BAE Hawk jet suddenly realised that he could no longer see.An eye infection had abruptly worsened during a routine training flight, leaving the unnamed pilot almost completely blind.Concerned RAF officers on the ground considered ordering the stricken pilot to eject, with the almost certain loss of the £18m aircraft.But mid-air ejection carries with it peril to the pilot too, so a plan was hatched to ‘talk the aircraft down’ guided by the pilot of a similar aircraft flying alongside.
There are at least three winning tickets in the US for the record $1.6bn (£1.1bn) lottery jackpot, officials have said. The winning tickets in the Powerball jackpot were sold in California, Tennessee and Florida. The previous draw was the 19th without a grand prize winner, which requires all six numbers to match. Officials said it would take several hours to know if there were any other winning tickets. Powerball USA tweetImage copyrightPowerball USA Winning numbers in 13 January draw The identity of the winners is not yet known. Thousands of people queued up outside shops across the US on Wednesday, hoping to defy the odds of 292.2 million to one. California Lottery tweeted that the winning ticket in the state was sold at a 7-Eleven store in Chino Hills, a suburb east of Los Angeles. Television pictures showed a cheering crowd gathering at the shop after the result was announced. The winners will share a prize of $1.586bn. They can collect their winnings in annual payments over 29 years, or opt to share a lump-sum payment of $930m. The government will also share in the big prize, however, levying a 39.6% federal income tax on the winners - and the payout will also be subject any taxes that the winners' home states may impose.
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