06/30/2011. Remarks by Johan Visschedijk: "This aircraft was delivered to the USAAF as a C-46A-45-CU on July 15, 1944, a year later, May 21, 1945, it was involved in an accident at Payne Field near Cairo, Egypt. In 1950 it was sold to the airline SAIDE (Services Aériens Internationaux d'Egypte), registered as SU-AFS. Reportedly it was subsequently operated by Iran National Airlines as EP-ACM, however, this can have been for only a brief period, as in 1951 it was registered in the USA and registered as N50574 to broker Air Carrier Service Inc.

The broker sold the aircraft, also in 1951, to the Brazilian airline Real Transports Aereos as PP-YQE, the following year it was reregistered to VARIG as PP-VCF. In Varig service the aircraft was fitted with two Turboméca Palas turbojets under the wings for additional take off power.

On April 7, 1957, the aircraft took off from Bagé-Comandante Gustavo Kraemer Airport for a scheduled domestic passenger flight to Porto Alegre-Salgado Filho International Airport. Shortly after take off a ruptured fuel line developed a fire in the left landing gear well, the aircraft returned to Bagé. On finals the left landing gear leg failed to lower, and the pilot applied power to go around for another approach. Seconds later the left wing separated from the fuselage and the aircraft crashed, killing all 5 crew and 35 passengers."

Read also the type remarks on page 9966.