After the war, most were sold by the United States government as surplus to various airlines worldwide, which converted them for passenger and cargo transport.

[7] Three minutes after takeoff, the crew declared an emergency to the Bagé Airport tower, caused by a fire in the left engine.

[7] Before executing the second attempt, the aircraft lost its left wing and crashed onto the airport runway, exploding shortly after.

Liberato Salzano Vieira da Cunha [pt] was one of the passengers on PP-VCF,[2][1] and his death caused great emotion in Rio Grande do Sul.

The flames reached the main spar of the left wing, which could not withstand the intense heat, detaching from the fuselage and causing the disaster.

[7] The Curtiss C-46 had always been considered a problematic aircraft due to its poor performance, particularly in single-engine flight (with several airlines replacing the original Pratt & Whitney R-2800-75 engines of 2000 hp with Pratt & Whitney R-2800-83 AM4 engines of 2100 hp), its high fuel consumption, and frequent fuel tank leaks.

Several aircraft experienced fires or mysterious crashes[7] until the fragility of the fuel line system, made of duralumin, was discovered.

After the accident, Varig installed drains in the wings of its Curtiss aircraft and replaced all duralumin ducts with similar stainless steel ones.