The White Bird

May 8, 1927 - At 5:17 AM on this day, two French aviators took off from Le Bourget Field in Paris. They were attempting the first nonstop transatlantic flight between Paris and New York. Their fate would become one of the greatest aviation mysteries of all time.

Charles Nungesser and François Coli were two of the greatest pilots of their era. Both were decorated World War I veterans, and they were eager to claim a $25,000 prize offered by New York hotelier Raymond Orteig to the first aviators to complete a nonstop flight between New York and Paris.

Their aircraft, the L'Oiseau Blanc — “The White Bird” — was heavily modified for the dangerous journey. Designers removed two cockpits to make room for massive fuel tanks, reinforced the fuselage for a water landing, and fitted the plane with detachable landing gear. Moments after takeoff, the landing gear was jettisoned over France to reduce weight. The plan was to reach New York and land in the water near the Statue of Liberty.

But the White Bird never arrived.

Some evidence has fueled speculation that the aircraft may actually have reached North America. A Maine hermit named Anson Berry later claimed he heard an aircraft engine sputtering through heavy fog near his camp on May 9th, followed by the sound of a crash in the distance.

No confirmed trace of the aircraft has ever been found. In fact, the only authenticated piece of the White Bird known to survive is the landing gear left behind near Paris.

Just two weeks later, Charles Lindbergh landed the Spirit of St. Louis at the same airfield from which the White Bird had departed, securing his place in aviation history while the fate of Nungesser and Coli slipped into legend.