Commando 42-3676
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-36-CU Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-3676
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26809
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU449
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
February 1944 to October 1945
42-3676 - USAAF (USA)
10 February 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
10 March 1944
Assigned to ATC Central African Wing.
2 July 1945
Assigned to Morrison Field, FL.
October 1945 to 1947
42-3676 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)
24 October 1945
Transferred to RFC and stored at Ontario AAF, CA.
December 1947 to May 1948
RX-134 (II) - LAPSA (LINEAS AEREAS DE PANAMA SA) (PANAMA)
December 1947
Purchased.
Left: a profile of RX-134 in 1947-1948
Photo credit: Alex Yoffe / www.wings48.com
May 1948 to April 1952
1705 - IAF (ISRAELI AIR FORCE) (ISRAEL)
May 1948
Purchased.
Late 1949
Withdrawn from use shortly after the end of the War of Independence.
Right: Two foreign volunteer crews in front of RX-134 at Ajaccio, Corsica, serving in the supply airlift to Israel, June 1948. Left to right: Ed Styrak, Harold Livingston, Harry Schwartz, Al Raisin, Cyril Steinberg, Eddie Chinsky, Gordon Levett, Jack Goldstein, Len Dichek, Al Dobrowitz and Eli Cohen.
Photo credit: Harold Livingston collection / www.israelairlinemuseum.org
April 1952 to February 1956
4X-ALA - EL AL (ISRAEL)
4 April 1952
Purchased.
Left: 4X-ALA on 4 July 1953 at Lod Airport, today Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International.
Photo credit: Marvin Goldman / Wikimedia Commons
February 1956 to 1957
N5140B - ALASKA AIRLINES (USA)
Unknown date
Purchased.
20 February 1956
Delivered via Prestwick, UK.
Unknown date
Registered.
20 October 1956
Damaged in Granite, AK in a hard landing short of the runway. Repaired.
1957 to September 1959
N5140B - AAXICO (USA)
1957
Purchased.
2 September 1959
Damaged beyond repair at Dyess AFB, TX while attempting to land after losing elevator control (2/2 fatalities).
The Commando was carrying a contract cargo flight for the USAF, between Dyess AFB and Carswell AFB, TX. After elevator control was lost, the crew elected to declare an emergency and come back to Dyess AFB. They attempted several approaches using trim and power as the sole means of controlling pitch. On the final approach attempt, the aircraft touched down safely but started to porpoise. The Captain applied full power and the aircraft climbed steeply to a height of 150-200 feet. The plane then stalled, pitched down and crashed on the runway at an angle exceeding 45 degrees.
Examination of the elevator control system of the aircraft disclosed that the aft end of the aft link assembly was disconnected from the clevis in the elevator control horn assembly. This condition would render elevator control inoperative. The bolt which normally secures the link assembly-clevis attachment came undone, resulting in the loss of control which caused the accident. The bolt apparently worked out because it was improperly secured, a condition which should have been detected during a No.2 maintenance inspection completed just prior to the trip.
Crew:
William J. Bagus, Captain, 36 years old, 7,294 flight hours
Maher D. Erceill, First Officer, 38 years old, 4,839 flight hours
Below: the link assembly, bolt and clevis undone, which caused N5140B’s accident.
Photo credit: NTSB
Last edited: 04/01/2024