As Kyle prepared an oxygen mask and Bruce asked Kerry if she could feel her fingers and toes to make sure that she didn’t have a spinal injury, Lauren clambered in the back of the tub and removed James’ Styrofoam seat. They’d all been trained in assembling and disassembling the microlight planes and Lauren reached for a catch that would let Kerry’s seat slide loose.

‘Shall I free it?’ Lauren yelled, as James disobeyed orders and stood up to watch.

Bruce squeezed Kerry’s trembling hand, as Kyle gave her a few breaths of oxygen.

‘It really hurts,’ Kerry sobbed. ‘I’m sorry I messed up.’

Bruce smiled. ‘Don’t be daft. Lauren’s going to release your seat. You let me know if you want to stop, OK?’

As Capstick and McEwen ran in holding a stretcher, Lauren hit the catch. Kerry’s legs were crushed inside the nose and Lauren was shocked as the seat shot back, catching her forefinger in a plastic seat runner.

‘Shit,’ Lauren shouted, grasping a pair of bloody fingers as she scrambled out of the tub.

While Ning rushed across to help Lauren, Kerry moaned gently as Bruce and Kyle raised her out of the tub and lowered her on to a padded stretcher. Capstick was a trained medic and he took control.

Once Kerry’s helmet and boots were gently removed and an oxygen mask fitted, Capstick asked where it hurt.

‘Cracked ribs I think,’ Kerry said. ‘And my right knee.’

Capstick took a pair of scissors and sliced Kerry’s sodden flight suit from ankle to thigh. A couple of people gasped when they saw a gory mess around a badly displaced kneecap.

‘I don’t understand,’ Capstick said, as he eyed a piece of black metal protruding from underneath the kneecap. ‘Her suit wasn’t punctured.’

Bruce shook his head. ‘She injured her knee when she was ten,’ he explained. ‘They put metal pins in the joint. I guess they ruptured in the crash.’

Kerry craned her head up to look, and felt queasy seeing all the blood. ‘I’m sorry I crashed,’ she told everyone.

With Lauren busy getting her cut finger dealt with, James was free to move across and take Kerry’s hand.

‘You’ll be OK,’ James said, smiling slightly.

‘No I bloody won’t,’ Kerry said indignantly, but she squeezed James’ hand at the same time. ‘Mission’s in two days.’

‘Everyone back off,’ Capstick said indignantly, as he realised that Kerry was now encircled by people gawping at her wound. ‘Kyle, see if there’s something in that med case we can give Kerry for the pain. Bruce, you call Gibraltar coastguard. Tell them to send the nearest chopper for a medevac.’

31. MEDICAL