Commando 42-96578
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-45-CU Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-96578
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30240
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU776
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
July 1944 to September 1947
42-96578 - USAAF (USA)
1 July 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
Assigned to Air Transport Command, based at Baer Field, IN.
25 July 1946
Assigned to Davis-Monthan AAF, AZ, probably stored.
14 August 1946
Withdrawn from use as Class 34 [?].
October 1952 to 1953
N4860V - US AIRCOACH (USA)
October 1952
Leased from Flying Tiger Line.
Right: N4860V circa 1953, probably in California.
Photo credit: William T. Larkins / AVCA
1953 to January 1956
N4860V - FLYING TIGER LINE (USA)
1953
Returned from lease contract with US Aircoach, due to unpaid bills.
January 1956 to unknown date
N4860V - INTERIOR AIRWAYS (USA)
3 January 1956
Purchased by Interior Enterprises Inc. to be operated by sister company Interior Airways.
Unknown dates
N4860V - AL GHEZZI (USA)
Unknown date
Probably leased by Al Ghezzi, founder of trucking company Alaska Freight Lines. Remained in the old Interior Airways livery, with Al Ghezzi’s name painted on the sides.
[Was the plane used for cargo, or as Al Ghezzi’s personal transportation?]
Left: N4860V wearing Al Ghezzi’s name, seen in Oakland in July 1959
Photo credit: Larry Smalley / Ed Coates Collection
Unknown date to May 1972
N4860V - INTERIOR AIRWAYS (USA)
Unknown date
Returned from lease contract with Al Ghezzi.
5 January 1960
Purchased by Interior Airways.
[JB mentions a period when the aircraft was leased by Interior Airways to Reeve Aleutian]
4 December 1964
Damaged at Lake 57, Oliktok Point, AK in a runway overrun on landing. Repaired.
The Commando was on approach for a landing on a frozen lake near Oliktok Point. The pilot misjudged his altitude [whiteout?] and crashed.
Below, left: N4860V in Fairbanks on 15 September 1968. The aircraft has not yet been repainted after the 1964 accident repairs.
Photo credit: Neil Aird / www.dhc-2.com
Below, right: a Flight Simulator rendering of N4860V in late Interior Airways colors.
Photo credit: Dave McQueen / flyawaysimulation.com
May 1972 to June 1975
N4860V - FAIRBANKS AIR SERVICE (USA)
10 May 1972
Purchased.
28 March 1975
Damaged beyond repair in Deadhorse, AK in a landing accident (0/2 fatalities).
The Commando was operating a cargo flight from Anchorage, AK to Deadhorse. The IFR flight plan was cancelled on approach to Deadhorse, and a visual approach was executed. The Curtiss touched down short of the runway. The right main gear separated and power was applied for a go-around. The no. 2 engine didn't respond; the prop was feathered and the crew decided to carry out a belly landing. The aircraft slid 460 meters before coming to rest on the runway.
June 1975 to unknown date
N4860V - CLIFFORD R. EVERTS (USA)
7 June 1975
Wreckage purchased. [JB mentions the aircraft being rebuilt and operated by Great Northern Airlines prior to being sold to Everts]
1978
Stored at Fairbanks, AK and used for parts.
Right: N4860V seen in the late 1970s on Everts ramp in Fairbanks, AK, which the photographer calls “a C-46 dump”!
Photo credit: Geoff Goodall / www.goodall.com.au
Below, left: N4860V seen on 5 June 1989
Photo credit: Gerard Helmer / www.airliners.net
Below, right: N4860V still on Everts ramp on 5 May 2000. The wrinkled belly skin served as a reminder of its 1975 accident. Both Fairbanks Air Service and Interior Airways titles are clearly visible.
Photo credit: unknown / Picssr
By 2005
Fuselage still stored at Fairbanks, AK with wings but no fin, rudder, tailplane nor elevators.
ca 2007
Tail aft of the cargo door cut off, shipped to Buffalo Airways, and used to repair C-FAVO (44-78028) that had been damaged on 19 May 2004 in a taxi accident in Yellowknife, NWT, Canada.
Below, left: N4860V's aft fuselage fitted to C-FAVO and painted in Buffalo Airways colors, under a makeshift cloth hangar in Yellowknife, NWT, Canada ca 2008.
Photo credit: Ruud Leeuw / www.ruudleeuw.com
Below, right: this fuselage piece seen on 31 May 2009 at Buffalo Airways scrapyard in Hay River, NWT, Canada is probably a remnant of the aft fuselage used to repair C-FAVO.
Photo credit: Peter Unmuth / Air Team Images / JetPhotos.net
Last edited: 19/01/2020