Commando 43-47414

VARIANT: Curtiss C-46E-1-CS Commando

USAF SERIAL NUMBER (S/N): 43-47414

CURTISS CONSTRUCTION NUMBER (C/N): 2940

COMMANDO LINE NUMBER (L/N): CK462

FATE: Written off

  July 1945 to November 1945

  43-47414 - USAAF (USA)

21 July 1945

Delivered from the Curtiss-Wright factory in Saint Louis, MO.

Intended as lend-lease to China, but cancelled.

Remained within the continental USA.

  November 1945

  43-47414 - RFC (RECONSTRUCTION FINANCE CORPORATION) (USA)

6 November 1945

Transferred to RFC and stored at Ontario AAF, CA.

  November 1945 to unknown date

  N59483 - SLICK AIRWAYS (USA)

29 November 1945

Purchased.

  Unknown date to April 1950

  N59483 - AIR AMERICA (USA)

Unknown date

Purchased. [dates actually unknown, but Air America folded in January 1950]

Right: N59483 at its Burbank, CA base, supposedly in 1951 [?].
Photo credit: Ed Coates / AirHistory.net

  April 1950 to September 1950

  N59483 - ROBIN AIRLINES (NORTH CONTINENT) (USA)

14 April 1950

Purchased.

  September 1950 to March 1951

  N59483 - NORTH AMERICAN AIRLINES AGENCY (USA)

1 September 1950

Purchased.

  March 1951 to April 1951

  N59483 - TWENTIETH CENTURY AIRLINES (USA)

6 March 1951

Leased from North American.

  April 1951 to June 1954

  N59483 - NORTH AMERICAN AIRLINES AGENCY (USA)

26 April 1951

Returned from lease with Twentieth Century Air.

  June 1954 to February 1955

  N59483 - INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS INC. (USA)

14 June 1954

Purchased by A. J. Blackman, a nominee of George Batchelor, to be operated by International Airports.

  February 1955 to December 1957

  CF-HYH - PWA (PACIFIC WESTERN AIRLINES) (CANADA)

3 February 1955

Purchased.

15 February 1955

Registered.

Operated to support DEW (Distant Early Warning) Line stations in the Canadian arctic.

29 November 1957

Damaged in an undocumented accident.

Circa late 1957

Converted to Super 46C.

  December 1957 to January 1960

  CF-PWD - PWA (PACIFIC WESTERN AIRLINES) (CANADA)

5 December 1957

Reregistered.

23 October 1958

Damaged at Cambridge Bay, NWT in a runway overrun.

29 January 1960

Damaged beyond repair at Port Hardy, BC in a landing accident (0/51 fatalities).

The Commando was operating a scheduled passenger flight between Port Hardy, BC and Comox, BC with three crewmembers and 48 passengers on board. After airborne, the right engine failed and the crew elected to return. A fog bank on final approach to Port Hardy forced the crew to conduct a steeper than usual approach, and the airplane landed fast. As runway 10 was short and wet, the airplane could not be stopped in time and overran the runway into tree stumps, coming to rest in a swamp. All occupants evacuated safely. Failure of the right engine was determined to have been caused by a fatigue fracture of the reduction drive ring gear.