Commando 42-61026
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-41-CU Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-61026
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26901
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU541
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
April 1944 to April 1946
42-61026 - USAAF (USA)
8 April 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
11 May 1944
Assigned to ATC India-China Wing.
15 December 1944
Received major damage in Paoshan, Yunnan, China in a taxi accident.
Pilot: Thane D. Croston
Unknown date
Assigned to Karachi, Sindh, India.
April 1946 to June 1956 June 1956 to August 1956
N????? - WESTERN HEMISPHERE IMPORT EXPORT COMPANY (USA)
June 1956
Purchased and ferried from India to Miami, FL.
August 1956 to November 1956
PP-LDW (II) - LOIDE AEREO NACIONAL (BRAZIL)
10 August 1956
Purchased, but apparently never operated by Loide.
November 1956 to May 1959
PP-BTA - PARAENSE TRANSPORTES AEREOS (BRAZIL)
16 November 1956
Purchased.
4 September 1957
Reregistered.
6 May 1959
Damaged beyond repair near Belem, Brazil in an accident after takeoff (3/3 fatalities).
The Commando was operating a night flight from Belem to Cristalandia, Brazil, where it was going to pick up a cargo of meat. During the initial climb from Belem, the aircraft made a right turn at low altitude, crashed and caught fire.
Last edited: 07/04/2021