Date:	Thursday 16 May 1946
Time:	day
Type:	Vickers Warwick Mk V
Owner/operator:	6 OTU RAF
Registration:	PN749
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 5 / Occupants: 5
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	A919 Newport-St Andrews Road, near RAF Leuchars, Fife, Scotland -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Leuchars, Fife (EGQL)
Destination airport:	RAF Leuchars, Fife (EGQL)
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Vickers Warwick Mk. V PN749 6 OTU, RAF: Written off (destroyed) 16 May 1946 in a flying accident on approach to RAF Leuchars, Fife.

The crew was performing a training mission. The Warwick was circling Leuchars when the port engine failed. The aircraft overshot the line of the runway at RAF Leuchars when turning onto final approach, with the port engine feathered. The pilot attempted to line up with the runway at Leuchars, but in doing so, the starboard wing lifted, aileron control authority was lost, and the Warwick dived into the ground

The aircraft lost height and crashed onto the main A919 Newport-St Andrews Road, just beyond the airfield boundary, and burst into flames. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and a post-crash fire, and all five crew members were killed.

Crew (6 OTU, RAF):
F/Sgt (Pilot) Norman Frederick Bates, (1584225) RAF killed on active service 16/05/46,
W/O (Pilot) John Alfred Willmott (1801146) RAF killed on active service 16/05/46,
F/Sgt (Navigator (Bomb Aimer)) Stanley Victor Titchener (1850792) RAF killed on active service 16/05/46,
F/Sgt (Telegraphist/Air Gunner) George Richard Green (1867362) RAF killed on active service 16/05/46,
W/O (WOp/Air Gunner) James Park Magee (1820581) RAF killed on active service 16/05/46

Cause: The loss of control on approach was attributed to the failure of the left engine.

1. Halley, James (1999). Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents. Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.42. ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Final Landings: A Summary of RAF Aircraft and Combat Losses 1946 to 1949 by Colin Cummings p.144
3. Royal Air Force Aircraft PA100-RZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain)
4. http://forum.12oclockhigh.net/showthread.php?t=23860
5. https://www.baaa-acro.com/crash/crash-vickers-474-warwick-v-raf-leuchars-5-killed
6. "RAF Write-offs 1946": Air Britain Aeromilitaria 1979 p.99: https://air-britain.com/pdfs/aeromilitaria/Aeromilitaria_1979.pdf
7. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2403210/bates,-norman-frederick/
8. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2735344/willmott,-john-alfred/
9. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2710315/titchener,-stanley-victor/
10. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2430057/green,-george-richard/
11. https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/2715477/magee,-james-park/
12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Leuchars#Cold_War

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
21-Sep-2013 20:32	JINX	Added
06-Jun-2015 10:48	Tu104	Updated [Operator, Location, Destination airport]
19-May-2017 17:08	Dr.John Smith	Updated [Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
27-Nov-2018 19:51	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Nature, Operator]
11-Nov-2019 22:15	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Time, Source, Narrative]
15-Jul-2021 08:16	Tu104	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Narrative, Operator]
18-Jul-2021 12:09	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Source, Narrative, Category]
18-Jul-2021 12:09	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
18-Jul-2021 20:13	Tu104	Updated [Operator, Narrative, Operator]
19-Jul-2021 17:30	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
27-Jun-2023 00:01	Dr. John Smith	Updated [[Narrative]]