Fitz just grinned even more. There was no point denying it.
Chapter 6
‘I’ll see you at Hamble, then,’ said Betty as she shrugged on her flying suit and pulled the helmet down over her hair.
Fitz had slipped on her trousers from her luggage and yanked off her skirt, managing to maintain her dignity. She was aware that Sam was standing in the doorway watching her leave. Oh, well, it wasn’t like he could see anything. ‘All right, Betty,’ she called back. ‘See you there.’
As Fitz pulled on her flying suit, Betty started the engine of her aircraft. Unusually, the engine spluttered and it took Betty another try to get it going properly before taxiing towards the runway.
Fitz’s Spitfire started first time without any problem and she gave a wave to Sam as the chocks were removed from under her wheels and she was given the all-clear to follow Betty towards the runway. She watched as her friend’s plane took off into the air.
Fitz prepared her own plane ready for take-off and was about to open the throttle and speed down the airstrip when she noticed Betty’s plane seemed incredibly low.
A swell of panic rolled up from the pit of Fitz’s stomach. Betty needed to gain height and speed. What on earth was she doing? There must be something wrong with the plane. The deep growl of her own engine was too loud for her to hear Betty’s Spitfire, which might have been able to give Fitz an indication whether everything was all right.
She looked across to the hangar and could see Bob standing watching Betty. He was too far away for Fitz to see hisexpression properly but his whole body stance looked on edge. Then from behind him, she saw Sam coming across to join him.
Fitz looked back at Betty’s plane, which had just about cleared the trees and was climbing into the sky but not fast enough. She watched for several more seconds and could see Betty was fighting to keep the Spitfire in the sky. She was turning back on herself and must be trying to reach the airfield again.
Immediately, Fitz manoeuvred her own plane away from the landing strip to give Betty every chance to touch down safely and to keep her own aircraft out of harm’s way. The last thing Betty needed was to have to think about avoiding a crash of any description.
Fitz taxied swiftly back to the apron of the airfield and cut her engine. She unbuckled her harness and jumped out of the cockpit, onto the wing of the Spitfire. With one hand shielding the sun from her eyes she tracked Betty’s plane. The engine was spluttering.
‘Sounds like a spark plug is misfiring,’ called Bob.
Fitz glanced down at him and could see the apprehension in his expression. She looked back over to the hangar where a couple of other crew members had come out. They all recognised the sound of an engine that wasn’t working as it should.
This wasn’t good.
Fitz fixed her gaze back on Betty’s plane. ‘Come on, Betty, land it,’ she said out loud. The plane was losing height and speed far too quickly. It was spluttering now like someone was choking it.
‘Come on!’ shouted Bob. ‘You can do it.’
The words of encouragement were all they had. Fitz felt totally helpless. No one could do a thing to help her friend.
The aircraft was turning in towards the airstrip now. It was dangerously low to the trees on the perimeter of the airfield, the wheels skimmed over the top of the tallest branches.
‘She’s not going to make it,’ said Bob before swearing not so quietly.
‘You can do it, Betty!’ cried out Fitz. She could hear the crack in her voice. The aircraft’s engine cut out. There was a silence that filled the whole airfield. Fitz couldn’t take her eyes off the plane. She clasped her hands together. ‘Please God,’ she begged. ‘Please God, let her land it safely.’
The plane was dropping faster and faster.
It hit the runway with a thud. One of the landing wheels collapsed with the force of the impact and the airplane skidded sideways, sliding along on its belly. Sparks flew up from the undercarriage and body of the plane and it spun violently towards the left. The wing dug into the grass alongside the landing strip sending the plane into a tumble and nose diving into the ground.
Fitz jumped from the wing of the Spitfire and was hurtling across the airfield towards her friend. She could hear one of the pilots shouting at her to stop, but she ignored them. She had to get to Betty. The stench of aviation fuel assaulted her nostrils. They had been flying with full tanks of fuel and had barely used a fraction of it, with Tangmere being their first stop.
Before she made it another twenty yards, there was a huge explosion and the Spitfire burst into flames. The force of the explosion knocked Fitz from her feet and she landed on the grass with a thud, winding herself for a few moments.
She could hear a scream and for one awful second thought it was Betty but realised she was screaming as the single engined plane was engulfed in flames.
Fitz stumbled to her feet, her legs were wobbly and she fell to the ground. She got up again. She had to get to Betty. A vehicle sped past her. It was the emergency rescue truck, swiftly followed by an ambulance. As she began to run again,she was suddenly caught by something on her arm and tugged backwards.
‘Don’t go any closer!’ shouted a male voice. ‘It’s too dangerous.’
‘Betty! My friend Betty is in there!’ Fitz struggled to free herself from the grip of the man, but he was too strong for her. She realised she was crying. ‘Let me go!’
She momentarily registered it was Sam Carter who had grabbed her.
