Commando 44-77579
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46D-10-CU Commando
USAAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 44-77579
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 32975
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1511
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
December 1944 to April 1947
44-77579 - USAAF (USA)
16 December 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
7 January 1945
Departed the USA for Europe.
Assigned t the 8th Air Force.
Unknown date
Assigned to the 9th Air Force, 52nd Troop Carrier Wing, 313th Troop Carrier Group, 29th Troop Carrier Squadron based at RAF Folkingham, England.
Marked "5X".
24 March 1945
Damaged during Operation Varsity over Wesel, Germany.
20 July 1945
Returned to the USA at Bradley Field, CT.
April 1947 to 1948
44-77579 - WAA (WAR ASSETS ADMINISTRATION) (USA)
30 April 1947
Transferred.
23 July 1947
Salvaged at Bergstrom AAF, TX.
16 March 1948
Surplus.
1948 to ca 1960
N74689 - PENINSULAR AIR TRANSPORT (USA)
1948
Leased from Kathryn R. Martin.
16 September 1951
Received major damage near Chicago Midway, IL in a forced landing following an engine failure (0/53 fatalities). 
CAB Report
Crew:
Bernard J. Mountain, Captain
Robert Lee Tracy, First Officer
Paulette Hasselbrink, Flight Attendant
Marion Lipps, Flight Attendant
The Commando was operating a commercial flight between Chicago, IL and Miami, FL with intermediate stops in Covington, KY and St Petersburg, FL. The day before, the aircraft had been having misfiring problems on the left engine, but the issue had been looked at overnight by a local repair station. The aircraft was took off on runway 31L at Chicago Midway with four crew members and 49 passengers on board, supposedly at the 45,000lbs max gross weight, but in reality overweight by 1,860lbs. As the plane became airborne at a speed of 100-105 mph, the left engine started misfiring again. The landing gear was raised, but then the left engine started backfiring. The captain placed the left mixture control in the full-rich position, which was unsuccessful. He then turned off the left engine's right magneto, which did not work either, and when he put the magneto switch back on both magnetos, the engine lost all power. The propeller was feathered and the aircraft started a slight turn to the left. It climbed slowly on its right engine to an attitude of 150ft to 200ft, but then started gradually losing altitude. The captain saw a sizable stretch of open land ahead and decided to crash land. He cut the power on the right engine, nosed the aircraft down, quickly flared it out, and landed exceptionally hard with the landing gear and flaps retracted. The severity of contact broke both engines completely free of their mounts, the aircraft rode over them, bounced several times and slid to a stop. There were no fatalities but 36 passengers were injured.
Total airframe time: 5,754 hours.
Repaired.
Below: two shots of the accident airplane with emergency services standing by, just two blocks East of South Harlem Avenue & West 63rd Street, in what is now a residential neighborhood.
Photo credit: Midway Airport Historians
Late 1960 to May 1964
N74689 - WIEN ALASKA AIRLINES (USA)
Late 1960
Leased from Donald Burnett.
Right: N74689 somewhere in Alaska, early 1960's.
Photo credit: Christian Volpati / AirlinersGallery
May 1964 to December 1964
N74689 - PRIVATE (USA)
8 May 1964
Returned to Donald Burnett after the lease to Wien Alaska Airlines ended.
December 1964 to January 1965
N74689 - PRIVATE (USA)
December 1964
Leased from Donald Burnett by Capt. Mario P. "Milo" Gaffi of Fairbanks, AK, a pilot for Wien Alaska Airlines.
January 1965 to August 1965
N74689 - M & F CORPORATION (USA)
26 January 1965
Subleased from Capt. Mario P. "Milo" Gaffi by M & F Corporation.
August 1965 to 1973
N74689 - PRIVATE (USA)
1 August 1965
Returned to Donald Burnett after lease contract ended.
1970
Withdrawn from use and stored at Marana, AZ.
1974 to 1975
N74689 - MIAMI AIRCRAFT VENTURES INC. (USA)
1974
Probably leased from Aircraft Modifications Inc..
Left: N74689 about to load cargo in Miami, FL in May 1974.
Photo credit: Werner Fischdick / ASN
1975 to April 1976
N74689 - AIRCRAFT MODIFICATIONS INC. (USA)
1975
Returned from leased to Miami Aircraft Ventures Inc..
April 1976 to 1977
N74689 - CASAIR (USA)
9 April 1976
Registered to Robert C. Kellam of East Chatham, NY to be operated by CASAIR.
1977 to August 1977
N74689 - QUARTERWINDS AVIATION (USA)
1977
Subleased from CASAIR.
23 August 1977
Damaged beyond repair near Goyave, Guadeloupe, French Caribbeans in a ditching following an engine failure (0/4 fatalities).
The Commando was operating a commercial cargo flight between Dominica and St Croix, USVI with two pilots, two passengers and a load of oranges & bananas on board. During cruise, the left engine misfired. It was throttled back and had to be stopped a short while later. Sustained flight necessitated maximum continuous power on the right engine. After a while, oil pressure dropped on the remaining engine due to that prolonged high power demand, and the pilot had to reduce power on it. The aircraft started to descent as the pilot headed for the shores of the nearby island of Guadeloupe. He made a perfect ditching just off Goyave, Guadeloupe from which all four occupants escaped unharmed.
27 April 1978
Registration cancelled.
Last edited: 14/03/2024