WRONG WAY CORRIGAN
Name: Douglas Corrigan
Born: 22 January 1907
Died: 9 December 1995
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 his unauthorized flight was due to a navigational
error, caused by heavy cloud cover that obscured landmarks and low-light
conditions, causing him to misread his compass. Corrigan, however, was a skilled
aircraft mechanic (he was one of the builders of Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of
St. Louis) and a habitual risk-taking maverick; he had made several
modifications to his own plane, preparing it for transatlantic flight. Between
1935 and 1937, he applied several times, unsuccessfully, 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.
Name: Douglas Corrigan
Born: 22 January 1907
Died: 9 December 1995
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 his unauthorized flight was due to a navigational
error, caused by heavy cloud cover that obscured landmarks and low-light
conditions, causing him to misread his compass. Corrigan, however, was a skilled
aircraft mechanic (he was one of the builders of Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of
St. Louis) and a habitual risk-taking maverick; he had made several
modifications to his own plane, preparing it for transatlantic flight. Between
1935 and 1937, he applied several times, unsuccessfully, 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.