Commando 42-96626

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-45-CU Commando

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-96626

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30288

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU824

FATE: Written off

  July 1944 to 1954

  42-96626 - USAAF (USA)

15 July 1944

Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.

13 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.

  1954 to September 1958

  PP-LDX - LOIDE AEREO NACIONAL (BRAZIL)

1954

Purchased and ferried to Venice, Italy. Overhauled by Officine Aeronavali.

[some sources mention direct ownership of this aircraft by Officine Aeronavali]

27 July 1955

Delivered to Brazil via Prestwick, UK.

ca 1956

Probably leased to Transportes Aereos Bandeirante, still in Loide colors. [according to AB only]

5 September 1958

Damaged beyond repair near Campina Grande, Brazil in an approach accident in bad weather (13/18 fatalities).

The Commando was operating a scheduled passenger flight between Recife and Campina Grande with 4 crew and 14 passengers. Upon approach destination, the pilot left the cruise altitude of 1800 meters without clearance and descended to 1200 meters. He passed overhead Campina Grande at 1000 meters, 200 metres below the published minimum altitude. Having passed over the facility, the Captain consulted the approach plate and replaced it in the binder. When the copilot asked him whether it should not be kept out, he said no, as he already knew it by heart. The procedure was initiated normally, and the Commando had reached an altitude of 520 meters (below the minimum altitude of 647 meters) when vertical visual contact with the runway was established. However, at that point the aircraft was over the runway and a landing could not be performed. The pilot tried to enter the traffic visual, so as not to lose sight of the runway, but this proved impossible on reaching final approach. The Captain turned to a heading of 200 degrees and continue to descend. After a few moments of flight, the copilot tried unsuccessfully to obtain visual reference by looking outside. At this time he felt a violent impact and heard the Captain shout that he was “hitting”. Two crew and eleven passengers were killed, and two crew and three passengers were seriously injured in the accident.

The inbound heading of 200 degrees observed by the copilot and checked by the Investigating Commission showed that the procedure carried out by the Captain was not in accordance with that indicated on the approach chart. It was also found that when vertical visual contact with the runway was initially established, the aircraft was at most 40 meters from the ground, despite the fact that the meteorological information supplied by the Loide station at Campina Grande was ceiling 130 meters with visibility 6 km.

Right: the tail section of PP-LDX after the crash. Loide’s titles are clearly visible.
Photo credit: BAAA