Commando 42-101110

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-50-CU Commando

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-101110

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30565

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU1101

FATE: Written off

  September 1944 to November 1945

  42-101110 - USAAF (USA)

17 September 1944

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

Assigned to I Troop Carrier Command, based at Baer Field, IN.

Stayed within the Continental USA.

  November 1945 to May 1947

  42-101110 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)

6 November 1945

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

  May 1947 to February 1948

  N92853 - UNITED SERVICES FOR AIR INC. (USA)

26 May 1947

Purchased from RFC.

7 July 1947

Registered. [also quoted as NC92853]

  February 1948 to April 1968

  N92853 - WIEN ALASKA AIRLINES (USA)

10 February 1948

Purchased.

Unknown date

Damaged at Point Barrow, AK after sliding off the runway into sand (no fatalities).

21 June 1961

Damaged in Kotzebue, AK in a hard landing (no fatalities).

13 October 1967

Damaged in Fairbanks, AK after a gear collapse (0/2 fatalities).

The Commando was operating a sheduled domestic cargo flight. During landing gear extension, the left main gear failed to lock down. A precautionary landing was undertaken at Fairbanks, AK, but the left gear collapsed after touchdown. The left gear downlatch locking cylinder was found to have malfunctioned due to a bent piston rod.

  April 1968 to July 1969

  N92853 - WIEN CONSOLIDATED (USA)

April 1968

Transferred as Wien merged with Northern Consolidated and changed its name to Wien Consolidated.

  July 1969 to 1970's

  N92853 - CLIFFORD R. EVERTS (USA)

1 July 1969

Lease-purchased by Cliff Everts of Fairbanks, AK, at the time a pilot for Wien Consolidated.

  1970's to 1978

  N92853 - NENANA FUEL COMPANY (USA)

1970's

Leased from Cliff Everts, who did not have an AOC of his own yet to operate the aircraft directly.

  1978 to July 1983

  N92853 - EVERTS AIR FUEL (USA)

1978

Transferred to newly-created Everts Air Fuel.

10 July 1983

Damaged beyond repair at Tobin Creek, AK in a runway excursion (0/2 fatalities).

The Commando was operating a cargo flight between Fairbanks and the Tobin Creek mine airstrip, 8 km northeast of Chandalar Lake, AK. Just after touchdown, the aircraft rolled over a frost heave on the runway surface and began veering to the right. The pilot applied left brake and added power to the right engine but the aircraft continued going right until the right wing struck a hill adjacent to the right side of the runway. The aircraft came to rest in a ditch 110° to the right of the landing runway heading. Both pilots were seriously injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

Examination of the right main landing gear tire revealed a large jagged opening on the sidewall which extended into the tread of the tire. This opening matched one of the sides of a rock found in the vicinity of the frost heave. The NTSB also noted that aircraft logbooks did not show compliance with several Airworthiness Directives.

Wreckage abandonned on site, still visible today.

17 May 2006

Registration cancelled.

Right and below: a few pictures of N92853's remains at Tobin Creek in 2003. Note the C-119 wreck nearby. The field had become unusable after Tobin Creek overflowed onto it.
Photo credit: 85Mike / www.supercub.org