Date:	Sunday 13 June 1948
Time:	16:25
Type:	de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito NF Mk 30
Owner/operator:	616 (South Yorkshire) Sqn RAF
Registration:	NT423
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	1 mile east of RAF stn Finningley, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England -   United Kingdom
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Test
Departure airport:	RAF Finningley, South Yorkshire
Destination airport:	RAF Finningley

Narrative:
Mosquito NT423: Took off at 16:15 hrs for Test flight. 13/06/1948.
Whilst low flying, the port engine of Mosquito NT423 failed due to a leak of glycol coolant, which caused the engine to overheat. The pilot then allowed the airspeed of Mosquito NT423 to fall below the critical airspeed for single engine flying. The aircraft then went out of control, flicked over and dived into the ground inverted, one mile east of RAF Finningley.
Crew:
F/Lt (125754) James Atterby McCAIRNS DFC & 2 bars MM (pilot) RAFVR - killed
AC2 (2321296) Edward SHAW (passenger ) RAF - killed

The Times Monday, Jun 14, 1948 reported:
"A Mosquito aircraft of 616 South Yorkshire Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force, crashed and burst into flames a mile east of Finningley RAF Station to-day when on a local flight. The pilot Flying Officer J A McCairns DFM MM who lived near Bawtry, and a serving airman whose next-of-kin are not yet notified, were killed. The ground crews heard one of the engines making an unusual noise and saw the aircraft bank round the airport and nose-dive to the ground"

The Times, Tuesday, Jun 15, 1948 added:

"The second man killed when a Mosquito aircraft crashed near Finningley RAF Station Yorkshire, on Saturday was stated yesterday to be AC2 E Shaw. The other victim was the pilot, Flying Officer J A McCairns
His passenger was AC2 (2321296) Edward SHAW from Dipton, Co. Durham, who was a fitter accompanying Jim on an engine test check flight. 616 Squadron was an auxiliary unit, with Jim also having a civilian job as an area manager with launderette company Clark's of Retford. The day before he had flown a round trip to Tangmere in a three-aircraft formation. The Operations Record Book for 616 Squadron, compiled by Flt Lt Aytoun, DFC, recorded the details of the crash. It stated the aircraft had taken off at 16:15 hrs and crashed 10-minutes later when an in-flight emergency was declared due to an engine failure. The ORB gives the crash location as half-a-mile from the north boundary of the airfield. Jim was a married man with a baby son.

The Nottingham Journal on Friday June 18, 1948 reported:
"Triple D.F.C.'s Fatal Crash. Flying-Officer James McCairns, triple D.F.C., MM. and Croix de Guerre holder, of Mattersey Thorpe, near Doncaster, was described a very experienced pilot with 1,234 hours' flying time, at yesterday's Doncaster inquest on McCairns and A.C Edward Shaw, of Front Street, Hill Top, Dipton. Both men were killed when their Mosquito plane crashed and caught fire near Finningley RAF Station on Sunday. A witness said that the coolant of the port engine cooling system had escaped, causing the engine to overheat and fail. The coroner (Mr. W. H. Carlile) said he was satisfied all necessary checks had been made on the aircraft. He recorded verdicts of 'Accidental death'".

In 2013, Chris McCairns, the son of Jim McCairns born shortly before his death, presented McCairn's medals to the Tangmere Aviation Museum.

McCairns is commemorated on the National Arboretum Armed Forces Memorial, and with a Blue Plaque in Retford, Nottinghamshire (where his death was officially recorded).

1. http://www.airhistory.org.uk/dh/_DH98%20prodn%20list.txtt
2. ORB 616 Sqdn RAF: National Archives (PRO Kew) File AIR27/2524/39:
3. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8423159
4. Last Take-off: A Record of RAF Aircraft Losses 1950 to 1953 Colin Cummings p 402
5. The Times Monday, June 14, 1948 and Tuesday June 15, 1948
6. Nottingham Journal on Friday June 18, 1948
7. https://www.rafcommands.com/forum/showthread.php?614-F-Sgt-James-A-McCairns&p=3103#post3103
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Finningley#Post_Second_World_War
9. https://www.tangmere-museum.org.uk/news/james-mccairns-medals-gifted-to-the-museum
10. https://veterans.mod.uk/roll-of-honour.php?SerialNo=R254
11. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/183008231/james-atterby-mccairns

Pilots of No. 161 (Special Duties) Squadron RAF standing in the garden of 'The Cottage' at Tangmere, Sussex. They are (left to right): Flying Officer J A McCairns, Squadron Leader Hugh Verity, Group Captain Percy Charles "Pick" Pickard (Squadron Commander), Flight Lieutenant Peter Vaughan-Fowler and Flying Officer Frank "Bunny" Rymills. In front of Pickard sits his sheepdog 'Ming', and to the right, Rymill's spaniel 'Henry'.

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
16-Dec-2010 15:15	Nepa	Added
10-Jan-2012 15:47	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Source, Narrative]
16-Jan-2013 01:55	angels one five	Updated [Date, Aircraft type, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
28-Jun-2013 07:11	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Location]
06-Jun-2014 20:06	Nepa	Updated [Departure airport, Narrative]
31-Jul-2014 12:09	Nick Slaughter	Updated [Location]
31-Jul-2015 10:47	Nepa	Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Narrative]
02-May-2019 20:58	Nepa	Updated [Location, Narrative, Operator]
12-Apr-2021 09:02	Paul Allonby	Updated [Narrative]