Commando 43-46978
Aircraft Identification
VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-5-CK Commando
USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 43-46978
CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 49
COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CK26
FATE: Written off
Operational Record
August 1944 to November 1945
43-46978 - USAAF (USA)
25 August 1944
Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Louisville, KY.
Assigned to I Troop Carrier Command based at Baer Field, IN.
Remained within the continental USA.
November 1945 to 1947
43-46978 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)
6 November 1945
Transferred to RFC and stored at Walnut Ridge AAF, AR. [erroneously dated on 11 June 1945 by JB and other sources]
1947 to unknown date
1950 to February 1951
HK-333 - LANSA (LINEAS AEREAS NACIONALES SA) (COLOMBIA)
1950
Purchased.
14 February 1951
Damaged beyond repair near Yali, Colombia in a CFIT (2/2 fatalities).
Crew:
Franklin H. Schryer, Captain
Augusto Merlano, First Officer
The Commando was operating a cargo flight from Medellin to Barranquilla with only two pilots onboard. It took off at 1418 LT from Medellin. Once enroute, it hit a mountain slope 12 km from Yali. Both crewmembers were killed and the plane was destroyed on impact.
Right: an article in Spanish describing HK-333's accident.
Photo credit: El Tiempo, 14 February 1951
Last edited: 06/12/2020