Commando 41-5178

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46-CU Commando

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 41-5178

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26380

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU20

FATE: Unknown

  October 1942 to June 1946

  41-5178 - USAAF (USA)

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12 October 1942

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

Assigned to New York LaGuardia, NY.

Late 1942

Returned to Curtiss briefly for modifications.

29 May 1943

Assigned to ATC Alaskan Wing.

16 January 1944

Assigned to 3rd Operational Training Unit (3 OTU), based at Reno AAF, NV.

  June 1946 to 1948

  41-5178 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)

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5 June 1946

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

  1948 to October 1950

  N74698 - UNITED AERO SERVICE INC. (USA)

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1948

Purchased from RFC and stored.

26 October 1950

Registration cancelled, exported to Ecuador.

  October 1950 to March 1953

  HC-SJA - AREA ECUADOR (AEROVIAS ECUATORIANAS CA) (ECUADOR)

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October 1950

Purchased. [this aircraft was probably operated by Transandina before being transferred to AREA during the 1949 ATECA - Transandina merger]

27 March 1953

Damaged beyond repair at Panama Tocumen, Panama in a landing accident (no fatalities).

The Commando was operating a commercial flight between Miami, FL and Panama. During landing, the landing gear collapsed and the aircraft skidded off the runway into a ravine. All occupants could escape before the wreckage got consumed by fire.