Commando 44-77554

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46D-10-CU Commando

USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 44-77554

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 32950

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1486

FATE: Written off

  December 1944 to February 1946

  44-77554 - USAAF (USA)

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9 December 1944

Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.

Assigned to Air Transport Command based at Baer Field, IN.

Remained within the continental USA.

  February 1946 to 1948

  44-77554 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)

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22 February 1946

Transferred to RFC and stored at Walnut Ridge AAF, AR.

  1948 to August 1948

  NC51743 - UNITED SERVICES FOR AIR INC. (USA)

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1948

Purchased from RFC.

  August 1948 to November 1949

  XT-158 - CNAC (CHINA NATIONAL AVIATION CORPORATION) (CHINA)

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25 August 1948

Purchased.

  November 1949 to December 1949

  XT-822 (II) - CAT (CIVIL AIR TRANSPORT) (TAIWAN)

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23 November 1949

Turned over to CAT by order of the Nationalist Ministry of Communications, Civil Aeronautics Administration.

Reregistered and repainted in dark gray CAT colors.

  December 1949

  XT-822 (II) - CLAIRE L. CHENNAULT & WHITING WILLAUER (USA)

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12 December 1949

Purchased by Claire Chennault & Whiting Willauer, managers of CAT – while the aircraft was grounded at an unknown location, possibly Taipeh, Taiwan. This was part of an attempt supported by the US State Department to regain ownership of several CNAC & CATC aircraft.

  December 1949 to July 1950

  N8380C - CAT (CIVIL AIR TRANSPORT) (TAIWAN)

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19 December 1949

Transferred to CAT and registered.

10 May 1950

Registration cancelled, exported to China.

  July 1950 to September 1960

  B-856 - CAT (CIVIL AIR TRANSPORT) (TAIWAN)

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8 July 1950

Transferred to CAT Inc. and reregistered.

1956

Transferred to Air Asia.

30 June 1959

Arrived at Tachikawa AB, Japan in plushed configuration.

7 September 1960

Transferred to CAT Co. Ltd.

Subleased by Air America to Air Asia.

Assigned to the daily domestic flight service on the “round-the-island” flight out of out of Tainan, Taiwan.

  September 1960 to June 1964

  B-908 - CAT (CIVIL AIR TRANSPORT) (TAIWAN)

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14 September 1960

Reregistered.

20 June 1964

Damaged beyond repair near Shenkang, Taiwan in an accident (57/57 fatalities).

The Commando was operating the daily "round-the-island" passenger flight from Tainan, Taiwan. On the last leg from Taichung to Tainan, Taiwan, there were 5 crew members and 52 passengers on board,  among which were 20 Americans, one Briton, and members of the Malaysian delegation to the 11^th Film Festival in Asia, including businessman Loke Wan Tho and his wife Mavis. The airplane crashed at 1740 LT, only 10 km after takeoff, near the village of Shenkang with the loss of all on board.

Two theories exist as to the probable cause of the accident:

• The Taiwanese CAA concluded that the left engine oversped, based on several ground witnesses who heard unusual engine noises. As there were mountains on the right, the pilot supposedly made a left turn to attempt a return to Taichung, or a diversion to nearby Kung-Kuan AB, located 8 km to the left. Control was lost while turning into the dead engine, which led to the crash. Taiwanese CAA Report
• CAT claimed that the cause of the accident had been an attempt to hijack the aircraft because, as the medical examiner noticed, the pilot had "a small hole at the right side of the face". This was supported by two investigations which indicated that the aircraft remained structurally sound until the crash and that both engines were producing power. Structures investigation & tachometers examination

Total airframe time 19,488 hours.

 

Right: B-908 wearing CAT titles, unknown date and location.
Photo credit: unknown