PLANES ABLAZE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 June 1939, Page 6

PLANES ABLAZE

FOLLOWING ON COLLISION ON GROUND WOMEN PILOTS AND BOYS INJURED. ONE WOMAN IN CRITICAL STATE. By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright. MELBOURNE. June 11. Two Moth planes, belonging to the Victorian Aero Club, each piloted by a woman, collided and burst into flames while taxi ing at Essendon aerodrome today. Each had a passenger, an orphan boy from the St Vincent de Paul's orphanage. The pilots and the boys were injured, one of the pilots critically. Mrs Gertrude McKenzie, a former mayoress of South Melbourne, who is a commercial pilot with many hours experience, arranged with Miss Florence Wurtz, another aero club member, to take 30 boys from the orphanage on a series of flighty over the city. The crash occurred as the planes were taking off on the first flights. Mrs McKenzie's machine was travelling at 60 miles an hour and about to lift, when it struck Miss Wurtz’s mach ine, which was just moving. The plane burst instantly into flames. Miss Wurtz was trapped in the cockpit and was dragged out with difficulty, receiving terrible burns. Her condition is critical. Mrs McKenzie escaped when the front of her machine split open. The two boys climbed out unaided. They suffered shock, cuts and minor burns. Five of the aerodrome staff received burns when assisting to rescue Miss Wurtz.