Commando 42-96724
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-45-CU Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 42-96724
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 30386
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CU922
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
August 1944 to April 1946
42-96724 - USAAF (USA)
28 August 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Buffalo, NY.
30 September 1944
Assigned to ATC India-China Wing.
Unknown date
Assigned to Karachi, Sindh, India.
April 1946 to April 1957
June 1957 to October 1957
YV-T-JTC - RANSA (RUTAS AEREAS NACIONALES SA) (VENEZUELA)
June 1957
Purchased.
October 1957 to ca 1965
YV-C-ARM - RANSA (RUTAS AEREAS NACIONALES SA) (VENEZUELA)
18 October 1957
Reregistered.
1964
Withdrawn from use and stored in Miami, FL.
Right: YV-C-ARM sitting in Miami, FL between other Commandos on 4 August 1967.
Photo credit: P. R. Keeting / www.na3t.org
ca 1965 to March 1966
N????? - FRANCIS "GUS" A. CONNER (USA)
ca 1965
Purchased and rebuilt in Miami, FL. [AB quotes December 1966, but dates discrepancy]
March 1966 to May 1967
HP-424 - APASA (AEROVIAS PANAMA SA) (PANAMA)
14 March 1966
Leased from Francis Augustus Conner.
26 May 1967
Returned to Francis Augustus Conner.
May 1967 to December 1969
HI-145 - AEROMAR (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC)
May 1967
Leased from Francis Augustus Conner by Richie Martinez, to be operated by Aeromar.
December 1969 to ca 1973
HI-171 - AEROMAR (DOMINICAN REPUBLIC)
13 December 1969
Reregistered.
Left: HI-171 operating an Aeromar flight to Miami, FL on 19 October 1970.
Photo credit: R. A. Scholefield / Airliners.net
ca 1973 to May 1984
N4803J - FRANCIS "GUS" A. CONNER (USA)
ca 1973
Returned from lease with Aeromar. [March 1984 according to PL]
Withdrawn from use and stored in Miami, FL.
Right: N4803J stored engineless in Miami, FL on 6 November 1979, with Aeromar titles still visible.
Photo credit: Peter Nicholson / Airport-data.com
May 1984 to September 1984
N4803J - SAT (SOUTHERN AIR TRANSPORT) (USA)
May 1984
Probably leased from Francis Augustus Conner.
May have undertaken CIA flights to Nicaragua to support the Contras.
September 1984 to January 1987
N4803J - ATORIE AIR (USA)
September 1984
Probably leased from Francis Augustus Conner.
Left: N4803J with Atorie Air in 1985.
Photo credit: Aviation Photo Company
January 1987 to December 1990
C-GTXW - NORTHLAND AIR MANITOBA (CANADA)
January 1987
Probably purchased.
Right: C-GTXW at Winnipeg, MB on 17 July 1987. Note the Atorie paint scheme and “Ancient Lady” symbol remain.
Photo credit: Tim Martin / AV.CA
Below: C-GTXW repainted by August 1988 in Winnipeg, MB with the tail art still there.
Photo credit: Reinhard Zinabold / AV.CA
December 1990 to August 1994
C-GTXW - AIR MANITOBA (CANADA)
December 1990
Transferred as Northland Air Manitoba changed its name to Air Manitoba.
Above, right: Air Manitoba’s C-GTXW refueling in Thompson, MB on 26 July 1991.
Photo credit: Peter Smithson / Jetphotos
August 1994 to October 1996
5Y-TXW - RELIEF AIR TRANSPORT (KENYA)
August 1994
Probably purchased.
Unknown date
Damaged in an accident [no info] and stored in Kenya.
October 1996 to November 2001
C-GTXW - COMMANDO AIR TRANSPORT (CANADA)
23 October 1996
Registered.
Repaired in Africa and ferried to Canada.
6 March 1998
Ferried from Sault Sainte-Marie, ON to Winnipeg, MB and stored there.
28 September 2000
Damaged in Red Lake, ON in a takeoff accident.
Overran the runway on takeoff. Suffered structural damage aft of the wing section under the cargo door. This accident caused the demise of Commando Air Transport.
November 2001 to September 2015
C-GTXW - BUFFALO AIRWAYS (CANADA)
14 November 2001
Registered and stored in Yellowknife, NT.
By 30 August 2006
Returned to service.
9 November 2012
Received major damage in Yellowknife, NT in a landing accident (0/3 fatalities).
The Commando was operating a local flight from Yellowknife, NT. It landed on runway 10 and rolled to the intersection with runway 16/34 where the left main gear collapsed. The aircraft came to rest on the left wing resulting in substantial damage. The aircraft had indicated three green and amber (normal) landing gear lights on approach. The cause of the collapse was found to be foreign object intrusion: a ball peen hammer was lodged between the inboard drag strut and folding member. It is thought that the side load, which the hammer imposed, caused the down lock to slip out before full weight of the aircraft could insert the automatic gear pin. The aircraft was hoisted, the hammer removed and the gear locked in normally.
Repaired.
25 September 2015
Damaged beyond repair in Deline, NT in a belly landing (0/4 fatalities).
The Commando was operating a cargo flight between Yellowknife, NT and Norman Wells, NT. Enroute, approximately 225 km southeast of Norman Wells at 6,500 feet above sea level, the crew noticed a drop in the right engine oil quantity indicator in conjunction with a propeller overspeed. Propeller pitch was adjusted to control the overspeed however, oil quantity indication continued to drop rapidly. A visual confirmation of the right engine nacelle confirmed that oil was escaping via the engine breather vent at an abnormally high rate. Right propeller speed became uncontrollable and the crew completed the “Prop overspeed drill”. However, the propeller did not feather as selected. Several additional attempts were made to feather the propeller before it eventually feathered. The engine was secured and the shutdown checklist completed. The crew elected to divert to Tulita, NT, but quickly determined that the descent rate would not permit that as an option. The only other option for diversion was Deline, NT where weather was reported at half a mile visibility and 300 feet ceiling. An emergency was declared with Deline radio. The Commando was able to land at Deline, however the landing gear was not selected down to prevent a further loss of airspeed. This resulted in a belly landing approximately midpoint of runway 08. The aircraft continued off the end of the runway coming to a stop approximately 700 feet beyond the threshold. The crew evacuated the aircraft sustaining no injuries, however the aircraft was destroyed. Initial investigations revealed the engine oil scavenge pump had failed.
Left: C-GTXW receiving some TLC at its Yellowknife base on 21 May 2015.
Photo credit: C. V. Grinsven / Jetphotos
Below, left: C-GTXW in the sunset, 28 June 2014.
Photo credit: Stephen Fochuk / Flickr
Below, right: C-GTXW lying past the runway at Deline, NT on 25 September 2015.
Photo credit: unknown / PPRuNe
Bottom, left: emergency services at the crash site.
Photo credit: @MooseFMCJCD / Twitter
Bottom, right: another shot of the crash site.
Photo credit: NunavutPA-12 / www.supercub.org
Last edited: 21/08/2020