Commando 42-96606
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-45-CU Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-96606
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30268
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU804
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
July 1944 to June 1951
42-96606 - USAAF (USA)
15 July 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
10 August 1944
Assigned to ATC North African Division.
Unknown date
Assigned to Cairo Payne Field, Egypt.
23 July 1946
Condemned for salvage, probably by the Army-Navy Liquidation Commission.
June 1951 to November 1970
PP-VBX - VARIG (BRAZIL)
June 1951
Purchased.
11 June 1951
Ferried from Cairo Payne Field, Egypt to Venice, Italy for overhaul at Officine Aeronavali.
[some sources mention direct ownership of this aircraft by Officine Aeronavali]
27 December 1958
Damaged in Porto Alegre, Brazil in a nose-over due to excessive braking during a training flight. Repaired.
8 March 1962
Hit roller on landing in Recife, Brazil. Repaired.
July 1963
Converted to Super 46C by L. B. Smith Aircraft Corporation.
20 November 1970
Registration cancelled.
Right: PP-VBX in VARIG colors on 5 July 1969, clearly displaying its Super 46C attributes.
Photo credit: Vito Cedrini / www.jetphotos.com
Below: PP-VBX at Sao Paulo Congonhas, 26 February 1970.
Photo credit: Vito Cedrini / Airliners.net
November 1970
N355BX - CAROLINA AIRCRAFT CORPORATION (USA)
10 November 1970
Purchased.
[AB mentions the Commando going first to Flight Lease Inc. first, then to Carolina the same day]
November 1970 to February 1971
YV-C-SBS - ACASA (AEROVIAS CA SERVICIOS APURE) (VENEZUELA)
10 November 1970
Purchased, but never taken up.
February 1971 to August 1974
N355BX - CAROLINA AIRCRAFT CORPORATION (USA)
26 February 1971
Returned.
Right: N355BX seen at Fort Lauderdale, FL in 1972.
Photo credit: Larry Johnson / Aerial Visuals
August 1974 to December 1974
N8863 - KENDALL AIRCRAFT LEASING CORPORATION (USA)
5 August 1974
Purchased.
December 1974 to December 1977
N8863 - AIR HAITI (HAITI)
December 1974
Leased from Kendall Aircraft Leasing Corporation, and christened “La Crete a Pierrot”.
18 October 1977
Registration cancelled.
Left: N8863 in full Air Haiti livery landing in Miami, FL in February 1977.
Photo credit: Dave Richardson / Air Britain
December 1977 to September 1980
HH-AHC - AIR HAITI (HAITI)
28 December 1977
Reregistered.
Right: HH-AHC taxiing into the US Customs non-scheduled freighter terminal of Miami, FL in October 1979.
Photo credit: Geoff Goodall / www.goodall.com.au
Below: HH-AHC in Miami, FL on 6 November 1979.
Photo credit: Peter Nicholson / www.airport-data.com
1982 to January 1984
N84905 - AERO EXCHANGE (USA)
1982
Purchased.
Right: N84905 sitting in Miami in 1983, still in Air Haiti’s colors – the Commando probably was not flying much in those days.
Photo credit: The Aviation Photo Company
January 1984 to April 1984
N84905 - KENDALL AIRCRAFT LEASING CORPORATION (USA)
January 1984
Purchased.
Left: N84905 in altered Air Haiti colors – unknown date & location.
Photo credit: hiveminer.com
July 1985 to August 1986
N89BL - BELLOMY-LAWSON AVIATION (USA)
July 1985
Reregistered.
Right: N89BL with Bellomy-Lawson in December 1985, looking somewhat beat-up.
Photo credit: Bob Garrard / Flickr
August 1986 to September 1991
HK-3238 - CORAL (CORONADO AEROLINEAS) (COLOMBIA)
August 1986
Purchased.
29 September 1991
Damaged beyond repair in Villavicencio, Colombia in an accident after takeoff (1/9 fatalities).
The Commando took off from Villavicencio La Vanguardia Airport, Colombia at 1143 for a cargo flight to Mitu with 4 crew and 6 passengers onboard. Shortly after takeoff, the no.2 engine oversped. The crew attempted to return to the airport, but was unable to reach it. The aircraft force-landed, ran through a ditch, broke apart and caught fire.
The following is a 30 September 1991 article from newspaper El Tiempo describing the circumstances of the accident:
"One person died and eight were slightly injured when a cargo plane lost one of its engines, three minutes after taking flight, and before being able to touch the runway at the Vanguard airport, it crashed on the ground. The aircraft is a Curtiss Super 46C, registered HK-3238, operated by cargo company Coronado Airlines (CORAL). It covered the Villavicencio-Mitú route with nine occupants and four tons of food.
"The aircraft fell in a pasture near a stream, a kilometer and a half from the airport runway, near the Jardines del Llano Cemetery, on the road leading to the municipality of Restrepo, and caught fire.
"According to the report of the Police Command Meta and Llanos Orientales, Luis Emilio Duran, 18, lost his life in the accident. The other four passengers and the four crew were injured. The crew was composed of Captain Francisco Cortes, copilot Samir Coronado, mechanic Ricardo Ahunca Rivera and loadmaster Pedro Mira Castro. The passengers were Benjamin Diaz, president of the Council of Mitu, Humberto Solano, secretary of the Council, Alejandro Forero, merchant, and Felipa Rivera, the mother of the mechanic. They were hospitalized in various city clinics with bruises and minor fractures.
"The plane had taken off at 11:43 in the morning from Vanguardia airport, and three minutes later it declared an emergency. The pilot tried to turn back, but he hit the ground during the turn.
"Participants in the rescue efforts included units of the Fire Department of Villavicencio, which extinguished the fire, and members of the National Police and the Administrative Department of Security (DAS).
"Three and a half months ago, a Douglas DC3 crashed for the same reasons and in the same place, after having taken off from Villavicencio to Miraflores Guaviare.
"On that occasion eight people had lost their lives and six were saved, among them the crew members.
"Losses from this accident are estimated at 200 million pesos, according to civil aviation officials in the capital."
Below, left: HK-3238 at Villavicencio, Colombia in January 1987.
Photo credit: Werner Fischdick / ASN
Below, right: HK-3238 a few years later in August 1991, still in Villavicencio, Colombia.
Photo credit: Reinhard Zinabold / Flickr
Last edited: 13/09/2020