Commando 41-5195

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-1-CU Commando

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 41-5195

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26397

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU37

FATE: Written off

  February 1943 to November 1945

  41-5195 - USAAF (USA)

20 February 1943

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

Assigned to New York LaGuardia, NY.

29 May 1943

Assigned to ATC North Atlantic Wing, based at Presque Isle AAF, ME.

27 January 1944

Damaged at Narsarsuaq Air Base, Greenland in a ground accident. Pilot: Dana H. Weaver.

28 May 1945

Now with ATC North Atlantic Division, based at Grenier Field, NH.

  November 1945 to unknown date

  41-5195 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)

30 November 1945

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

  Unknown date to January 1950

  N????? - CALIFORNIA ATLANTIC AIRWAYS (USA)

Unknown date

Purchased from RFC.

  January 1950 to unknown date

  CB-50 - LAB (LLOYD AEREO BOLIVIANO) (BOLIVIA)

17 January 1950

Purchased.

  Unknown date to July 1951

  CP-550 - LAB (LLOYD AEREO BOLIVIANO) (BOLIVIA)

Unknown date

Reregistered.

  July 1951 to October 1951

  CP-550 - LOIDE AEREO NACIONAL (BRAZIL)

21 July 1951

Purchased by Consortium Loide, to be operated by Loide Aereo Nacional.

29 July 1951

Severely damaged at Cochabamba, Bolivia. This accident probably took place at the onset of the delivery flight and could explain why the Commando was late getting a Brazilian registration.

  October 1951 to September 1953

  PP-LDM - LOIDE AEREO NACIONAL (BRAZIL)

9 October 1951

Reregistered from CP-550 to PP-LDM.

14 September 1953

Damaged beyond repair in  Sao Paulo Congonhas, Brazil in an approach accident (0/17 fatalities).

The Commando took off in the afternoon from Sao Paulo Congonhas, Brazil with 5 crew and 12 passengers. Shortly thereafter, the crew encountered technical problems with the left engine. They informed the tower that they were returning for an emergency landing. Due to the poor weather conditions, the pilot-in-command decided to make a go around and came back for a second landing attempt. A few minutes later, while on base turn to join the approach path, the airplane stalled and crashed into eucalyptus trees located a few hundred yards short of the runway. The wings and cockpit were severely damaged but the fuselage was intact. The captain was seriously injured, but he had time to cut both ignition switches and to trigger the engine fire extinguishers. All 17 occupants were evacuated, among them a few passengers were injured.

Crew:
John Luis Freire de Faria, Captain
Aldemar Castro Magalhães, First Officer
Alberto Soares, Radio Operator
Carlos Augusto Xavier Ferreira, Steward

Right: PP-LDM boarding passengers for Loide Aereo Nacional.
Photo credit : Ed Coates Collection / http://www.edcoatescollection.com

Below: this poor copy of a local newspaper cut gives an idea of the crash scene.
Photo credit: Folha da Noite