Douglas Corrigan

Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan (January 22, 1907–December 9, 1995) was an American aviator born in Galveston, Texas. In 1938 after a transcontinental flight from Long Beach, California, to New York, he flew from Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York, to Ireland, even though he was supposed to be returning to Long Beach. He claimed that this was due to a navigational error caused by heavy cloud cover that obscured any landmarks and low-light conditions that caused him to misread his compass. Corrigan, however, was a skilled aircraft mechanic (he was one of the builders of Charles Lindbergh's The Spirit of St. Louis) and he had made several modifications to his own plane rendering it suitable for transatlantic flight. Between 1935 and 1937 he applied several times for permission to make a nonstop flight from New York to Ireland, and it is likely that his "navigational error" was a protest against government "red tape"; however, he never publicly acknowledged having flown to Ireland intentionally.

Aviation career

B. F. Mahoney and T. Claude Ryan, the aircraft manufacturers, were operating Ryan Airlines from the airfield where Corrigan learnt to fly. They gave him a job in San Diego at their Ryan Aeronautical Company factory. Charles Lindbergh commissioned the design and construction of the Spirit of St. Louis from the firm soon after Corrigan joined. Corrigan was responsible for the wing assembly and the installation of the gas tanks and instrument panel.

Related Topics:
B. F. Mahoney - T. Claude Ryan - Ryan Airlines - Ryan Aeronautical Company - Charles Lindbergh - Spirit of St. Louis

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With the success of Lindbergh's transatlantic flight, Corrigan decided to emulate the feat and selected his father's ancestral origin, Ireland, as his objective. Corrigan moved from job to job, and after gaining his transport pilot's license in October 1929, he started a small passenger service between small East Coast towns with his friend Steve Reich in 1930. Despite business success, Corrigan decided to return to the West Coast after a few years. He spent $325 on a used Curtiss Robin OX-5 monoplane in 1933 and flew it home, where he returned to work as an aircraft mechanic and began to modify the Robin for a transatlantic flight.

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Having installed a Wright J6-5 engine and extra gas tanks, Corrigan applied to the Federal Aviation Authority in 1935 asking permission to make a nonstop flight from New York to Ireland. The application was rejected, however, because his plane was deemed unsound for a nonstop transatlantic trip, although it was certified to the lower standard for cross-country journeys. Over the next two years, Corrigan made repeated modifications and reapplications for full certification, but none succeeded. Known to be exasperated with official resistance, Corrigan is widely thought to have decided to make an unofficial crossing. He never admitted that he deliberately flew late into New York in 1937 and planned to leave for Ireland with his tanks filled after airport officials had finished work. Mechanical problems on his inbound flight delayed him beyond the Atlantic "safe weather window", however, and he returned to California.

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On July 8 1938, Corrigan left California for New York. His logged flight plan had him returning to California on July 17, but he headed east from Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn and kept going. He claimed to have noticed his "error" after flying for about 26 hours. He landed at Baldonnel Airport, Dublin, after a 28-hour, 13-minute flight. His provisions were just two chocolate bars, two boxes of fig bars, and a quart of water. His plane had fuel tanks mounted on the front, allowing him to see only out of the sides of the plane. He had no radio and his compass was twenty years old.

Related Topics:
July 8 - July 17 - Baldonnel Airport - Dublin

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Aviation officials gave him only a mild punishment; his pilot's license was suspended for a fortnight. He returned to New York by steamship and arrived on August 4, the last day of his suspension. His return was marked with great celebration. More people attended his Broadway ticker-tape parade than had honored Lindbergh after his triumph.

Related Topics:
Fortnight - August 4

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