American aviatorDouglas Corriganearned the nickname " faulty Way " on July 17 , 1938 , when he filed a flight design from Brooklyn to Long Beach , California — but cease up in Ireland .
" untimely fashion " Corrigan finally returned to the U.S. , blend in in front of word television camera and admitted his " misapprehension " while grinning generally . But of course , he knew what he was doing all along — and his flight was a venturesome feat . Corrigan had modify his woodworking plane for the intercontinental flight , using knowledge he pick up while helping build Charles Lindbergh’sSpirit of St Louisa decade earlier . Corrigan had been denied permit once before to fly from New York to Ireland , so his " mistake " was a clever ( albeit severe and illegal ) way to make the journeying .
Corrigan made the flight of steps in a plane he calledSunshine . The carpenter’s plane had a leak gas tank , no wireless , and no parachute . He carried " a twosome box of fig legal community cookies " and some mucilage for sustenance . The flight lasted 28 hours . After his arrival near Dublin , his buffer ’s licence was suspended … but only for a few weeks .
Upon Corrigan ’s proceeds to the States , theNew York Postprinted a elephantine headline backwards , declaring : " HAIL incorrect WAY CORRIGAN . " A more legible right - style subheading read : " MILLION CHEER MADLY IN WELCOME TO FLYER . " Corrigan became a pocket-size American hero , endorsing " Wrong Way " product , writing a memoir , and starring as himself in the movieThe Flying Irishman . Here ’s Corrigan the twelvemonth after his illustrious escape , go far in Newark to cheer up crowds :
Corrigan come along on TV’sTo recite the Truth19 years after his flight . In the clip below , he shows up around the 16:50 crisscross .
Douglas Corrigan survive in California until his last in 1995 . All hail unseasonable Way Corrigan !
