VH-TAD (2)  Douglas DC-6B                                      ( c/n  44687)

                                

                                      In the early to mid 1960s TAA acquired this DC-6B to augment the two that were being leased
                                      from Ansett-ANA.    C/n 44687 was originally built for the Supplemental Carrier (i.e. non-sked)
                                      North American Airlines in 1954 as N6120C and transferred to subsidiary Trans-American Air-
                                      lines in 1955.   It was then leased to Eastern Air Lines in May 1957 who repainted it into their
                                      livery.  It was subsequently operated by two more non-skeds, Twentieth Century Airlines and
                                      Columbia Airlines who left it in more or less EAL markings.  TAA purchased it in November of
                                      1963, and named it  "John Ross".   Greg Banfield took the above shot at Mascot in November
                                      1964, while below is an image from the Geoff Goodall collection showing it at Essendon just
                                      after its arrival, and still in basic EAL livery.     TAA operated it to cover a short-term capacity
                                      need until their Boeing 727s were delivered.     It flew the mainline passenger services for only
                                      two years until sold in September 1966 to Trans Mediterranean Airlines as OD-AER.  After
                                      returning to the US in 1973 for Zantop International as N90687 it went to Columbia in 1976
                                      as HK-1707X.   It was written off in a crash at Sierra Cucuy, near Bogota,  while operating
                                      a cargo flight on on 8 December 1978.