Commando 43-47224

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46A-60-CK Commando

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 43-47224

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 295

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CK272

FATE: Written off

  March 1945 to April 1946

  43-47224 - USAAF (USA)

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8 March 1945

Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Louisville, KY.

13 March 1945

Departed the USA for Accra, Gold Coast.

Unknown date

Assigned to Karachi, Sindh, India.

   April 1946 to 1956

  43-47224 - INDIAN GOVERNMENT (INDIA)

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10 April 1946

Purchased.

  1956

  N3942A - ASSOCIATED AIR TRANSPORT (USA)

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1956

Purchased.

28 June 1956

Ferried from India to the USA via Belem, Brazil.

  1956 to September 1956

  N3942A - BANKERS LIFE & CASUALTY (USA)

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1956

Purchased.

  September 1956

  N3942A - AMERICAN AIRMOTIVE CORPORATION (USA)

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11 September 1956

Purchased.

3 October 1956

Registration cancelled, exported to Brazil.

  September 1956 to December 1960

  PP-AKF - TAN (TRANSPORTES AEREOS NACIONAL) (BRAZIL)

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September 1956

Purchased.

25 September 1956

Delivered to Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont, Brazil.

17 August 1959

Registered.

7 December 1960

Damaged beyond repair near Cachimbo, Brazil after an engine failure in cruise (15/15 fatalities).

The Commando was operating a charter flight between Cuiaba and Manaus, Brazil with 2 pilots and 13 passengers onboard. During cruise, the right engine failed for unknown reasons and the propeller feathered. As the aircraft started loosing altitude, the crew started jettisoning cargo. However, descent continued and the Commando crashed in the forest near Cachimbo, Brazil. A search party reached the wreckage a few hours later, but all occupants were found dead.