ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 198546
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| Date: | Sunday 11 June 1939 |
| Time: | day |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.60G Moth |
| Owner/operator: | Royal Victorian Aero Club |
| Registration: | VH-UHS |
| MSN: | 880 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Essendon Airport, Melbourne, VIC -
 Australia
|
| Phase: | Taxi |
| Nature: | Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Essendon Airfield, Melbourne, Victoria (MEB/YMEN) |
C/no. 880: DH.60G [Gipsy I] to Dept of Defence, Australia with C of A 1689 issued 14.11.28. Registered as G-AUHS [C of R 271] 4.3.29 to Civil Aviation Branch, Dept of Defence and loaned to Victorian Aero Club, Essendon. Re-registered VH-UHS later in 1929. Re-registered 16.8.37 to Royal Victorian Aero Club, Essendon (presumed on direct sale after end of loan). Fitted with Gipsy II 3.9.37.
Badly damaged in crash at Essendon Airport, Melbourne 4.1.39; repaired. Written off (damaged beyond repair) when destroyed by fire following a ground collision with taxying DH.60G Moth VH-UNP on take-off from Essendon Airport, Melbourne, Victoria 11.6.39: caught fire & pilot Miss Florence Wurts killed. According to a contemporary newspaper report (The Melbourne Argus for 12 June 1939 - see link #1):
"PLANES BURNT, NINE PEOPLE INJURED.
WOMEN PILOTS IN DROME COLLISION
BOTH MACHINES WERE REDUCED TO ASHES
Tangled wreckage when two planes piloted by women collided and burst into flames while taxying yesterday at Essendon aerodrome. The two pilots were Mrs. R. G. McKenzie and Miss Florence Wurts, who suffered burns to the face, hands, and legs, and cuts to the face. She is in a critical condition in the Royal Melbourne Hospital."
Mrs. McKenzie and Miss Wurts were taking boys from the St. Vincent de Paul Orphanage for joy flights. The two boys in the aircraft received relatively minor injuries. The other five victims received burns ranging from slight to severe in their attempts to rescue Miss Wurts from the burning wreckage. Gertrude McKenzie received a cut on the head and shock. Both DH.60s were destroyed."
Sources:
1. The Melbourne Argus for 12 June 1939 p.1: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/599816
2. http://www.airwaysmuseum.com/DH60%20VH-UHS.htm
3. http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austu/VH-UNP.html
4. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_VH-U.html
5. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-de-havilland-dh60g-gipsy-moth-melbourne-1-killed
6. http://www.australianflying.com.au/news/gertrude-mac-mckenzie-forgotten-aviation-pioneer-honoured
7. http://afleetingpeace.org/index.php/aeroplanes/15-aeroplanes/84-register-australia
8. http://www.ab-ix.co.uk/dh60.pdf
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essendon_Airport#History
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 18-Aug-2017 20:54 | Dr. John Smith | Added |
| 18-Aug-2017 20:56 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Total fatalities] |
| 07-Jun-2022 21:04 | Ron Averes | Updated [Location] |
| 28-Jul-2022 12:03 | Lipatov Sergey | Updated [Source] |
| 01-Oct-2023 07:32 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [[Source]] |
| 10-Oct-2023 13:37 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [[[Source]]] |
| 04-Dec-2023 15:11 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative] |
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