Date:	Sunday 28 January 1945
Time:	12:44
Type:	de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito B Mk XX
Owner/operator:	16 OTU RAF
Registration:	KB153
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near RAF stn Barford St.John, Oxfordshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Training
Departure airport:	RAF Barford St.John, Oxfordshire
Destination airport:	RAF Barford St.John

Narrative:
Mosquito KB153: Took off at 10:55 hrs for Day bombing training flight. 28/01/1945
About two hours later the aircraft was observed flying up the runway in use at about 1,000 feet. White vapour was seen coming from the port engine and the port undercarriage leg was half down. The aircraft then turned to port 180 degrees thus flying downwind and almost immediately the aircraft lost 200 feet in a shallow dive. It then levelled out, but it still lost height, and when almost opposite the downwind end of the runway in use and at about 600 feet, the aircraft started to turn towards the airfield. During the turn the aircraft lost height rapidly, and turned through 90 degrees and at 200 feet yawed violently to port. The aircraft was then seen to do one complete turn of a spin, and it hit the ground at a steep angle with the aircraft catching fire.
Crew:
F/Lt (Aus.416787) Jack McPherson RICHARDSON (pilot) RAAF - killed
F/Lt (132607) Leonard Arthur BUTCHER DFC (nav.) RAFVR - killed (NCO:1504553 Commission Gazetted : Tuesday 23 February, 1943)

A Court of Inquiry found that in its opinion the causes of the accident was due to :
- a complete loss of power in the port engine,
- Pilot did not or was unable to feather the port engine,
- Port undercarriage in the half up position which(a) increased the drag on the port side and so increased the final violent yaw to port and (b) increased the stalling speed
- the loss of the remaining power in the port engine probably occurred on the final turn in to the aerodrome and so initiated the violent yaw which started the incipient spin.
The Court also found that contributory factors were “ (a) Failure of the Pilot to strap in the aircraft and (b) the Pilot not noticing at the time that the port engine was failing.”

1.http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH98%20prodn%20list.txtt
2.https://static.awm.gov.au/images/col...25_022--1-.pdf
3.https://highgate-rsl.org.au/afcraaf-roll/richardson-jack-mcpherson-416787/
4.Rob Davis Bomber Command Losses Database

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
15-May-2008 12:27	Nepa	Added
22-Feb-2010 10:30	NePa	Updated [Operator, Location, Narrative]
23-Dec-2011 23:31	Nepa	Updated [Source, Narrative]
02-Jan-2012 04:17	Nepa	Updated [Location, Narrative]
12-Jun-2014 15:08	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Narrative]
07-Aug-2014 17:20	Victor	Updated [Location]
30-Nov-2014 18:10	R.Depa	Updated [Location, Source]
14-Sep-2015 20:56	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative]
24-Feb-2016 16:12	Victor	Updated [Narrative]
08-Mar-2019 20:29	Nepa	Updated [Location, Narrative, Operator]
20-Sep-2021 09:56	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Source, Narrative, Operator]
30-Nov-2021 12:00	Nepa	Updated [Narrative, Operator]
06-Dec-2021 23:37	Nepa	Updated [Phase, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Operator]
07-May-2022 11:11	Nepa	Updated [Operator, Operator]
02-Aug-2022 19:37	Rob Davis	Updated [Narrative]