Commando 42-61066
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-41-CU Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-61066
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 26941
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU581
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
May 1944 to October 1945
42-61066 - USAAF (USA)
1 May 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
Assigned to the 3rd Operational Training Unit (3 OTU), based at Reno AAF, NV.
October 1945 to January 1949
42-61066 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)
3 October 1945
Transferred to RFC, stored at Bush Field, GA.
November 1949 to January 1950
January 1950 to May 1950
YV-C-CAH - CAVE (COMPANIA AEREA DE VIAJES EXPRESOS) (VENEZUELA)
3 January 1950
Purchased.
June 1950 to December 1959
HK-515 - SAM (SOCIEDAD AERONAUTICA DE MEDELLIN) (COLOMBIA)
June 1950
Purchased.
26 July 1957
Damaged in Medellin, Colombia in an accident. Repaired.
8 December 1959
Lost at sea between San Andres Island and Cartagena, Colombia (45/45 missing).
The Commando was on the first leg of a San Andres Island – Cartagena – Medellin non-scheduled passenger flight. Twenty minutes after departure, while cruising at an altitude of 9,500 feet, the Captain informed ATC he was overhead PC-2 beacon in good weather conditions. This was the last radio transmission. SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended three days later as no trace of the aircraft nor of the 45 occupants was found. Eight days later, pieces of the right main gear were found on a beach of Moron Island, Panama. The cause of the accident was never determined.