# Canonical recap data for First Transatlantic Flight (1927)
# Source: https://recap.at/1927/lindbergh-transatlantic
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: lindbergh-transatlantic
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1927/lindbergh-transatlantic"
title: First Transatlantic Flight
aliases:
- Lindbergh's Atlantic crossing
- Spirit of St. Louis flight
- New York to Paris flight
subtitle: Lindbergh's solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris revolutionized aviation and captured global imagination.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1927-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1927
decade: 1920
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: The first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic was made by the Portuguese naval aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral in 1922, to mark the centennial of Brazil's independence. Coutinho and Cabral flew in stages from Lisbon, Portugal, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, using three different Fairey III biplanes, and covere
summaryLong: The first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic was made by the Portuguese naval aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral in 1922, to mark the centennial of Brazil's independence. Coutinho and Cabral flew in stages from Lisbon, Portugal, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, using three different Fairey III biplanes, and covered a distance of 8,383 kilometres (5,209 mi) between 30 March and 17 June. Although the North Atlantic had already been traversed in a non-stop flight by John Alcock and Arthur Brown in 1919, Coutinho and Cabral's flight remains notable as a milestone in transatlantic aviation, and for its use of new technologies such as the artificial horizon.
lede: Charles Lindbergh flew a single-engine monoplane nonstop from New York to Paris on May 20-21, 1927, becoming the first person to cross the Atlantic alone. The 33.5-hour flight in the Spirit of St. Louis captured global attention and transformed aviation from a stunt into a viable mode of transportation.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Gago_Coutinho_e_Sacadura_Cabral.jpg/1280px-Gago_Coutinho_e_Sacadura_Cabral.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "First aerial crossing of the South Atlantic"
importance: 81
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Flight duration
  value: 33 hours 30 minutes
- label: Distance covered
  value: 3,610 miles
- label: Aircraft
  value: Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis
- label: Departure point
  value: Roosevelt Field, Garden City, New York
- label: Landing point
  value: Le Bourget Field, Paris
- label: Departure date
  value: "May 20, 1927, at 7:52 AM"
- label: Arrival date
  value: "May 21, 1927, at 10:24 PM"
- label: Pilot's age
  value: 25 years old
- label: Prize money won
  value: $25,000 Orteig Prize
timeline:
- date: 1919-06-14
  title: Alcock and Brown's earlier transatlantic crossing
  description: John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown completed the first nonstop transatlantic flight from Newfoundland to Ireland, but required two crew members and made a crash landing.
- date: 1921-05-16
  title: Orteig Prize established
  description: New York hotelier Raymond Orteig announced a $25,000 prize for the first nonstop flight between New York and Paris, spurring aviation development.
- date: 1927-04-26
  title: Nungesser and Coli attempt
  description: French pilots Charles Nungesser and François Coli attempted the Paris-to-New York crossing in the White Bird but disappeared over the Atlantic.
- date: 1927-05-20
  title: Lindbergh departs New York
  description: "Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field in the Spirit of St. Louis at 7:52 AM, carrying 451 gallons of fuel for the transatlantic attempt."
- date: 1927-05-21
  title: Lindbergh lands in Paris
  description: "After 33.5 hours aloft, Lindbergh touched down at Le Bourget Field at 10:24 PM local time, becoming the first person to fly nonstop solo across the Atlantic."
- date: 1927-06-04
  title: Lindbergh returns to United States
  description: USS Memphis transported Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis back to Washington D.C., where he received a ticker-tape parade in New York.
- date: 1939-07-14
  title: First commercial transatlantic service begins
  description: Pan American Airways inaugurated regular transatlantic passenger flights with flying boats, making the route Lindbergh pioneered routine.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aerial_crossing_of_the_South_Atlantic"
  title: First Trans-Atlantic flight over the South Atlantic
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: Lindbergh's flight proved that long-distance solo aviation was feasible and survivable, legitimizing commercial transatlantic flight development. The event triggered massive investment in aviation infrastructure and routes, collapsing the psychological barrier between continents and accelerating the timeline to commercial transatlantic service by over a decade.
categories:
- tech-launch
taxonomy:
domain: technological
eventTypes:
- space_mission
- tech_launch
canonicalClasses:
- discovery
- creation
impactRadius: global
velocity: sudden
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: Charles Lindbergh's 1927 nonstop flight from New York to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis changed aviation forever.
wikidataQid: Q2784101
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: the-new-york-times
  headline: Lindbergh Soars Across Atlantic; Reaches Paris After 33-1/2 Hour Flight in Lone Eagle
  publishedAt: 1927-05-21
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.nytimes.com
  excerpt: Charles A. Lindbergh, a 25-year-old Air Mail pilot, flew a single-engine monoplane from New York to Paris in a non-stop flight of 3,610 miles, landing at Le Bourget Aerodrome early this morning after 33 hours and 30 minutes in the air.
  significance: 95
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: Le Petit Parisien
  publisherSlug: le-petit-parisien
  headline: L'Aviateur americain Lindbergh a atterri au Bourget - Une victoire pour l'aviation mondiale
  publishedAt: 1927-05-21
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - gallica.bnf.fr
  excerpt: "FR: 'L'Aviateur américain Lindbergh a atterri au Bourget - Une victoire pour l'aviation mondiale' / EN: 'American aviator Lindbergh lands at Bourget - A victory for global aviation.' Thousands gathered at Le Bourget as the American made history with the first solo transatlantic crossing."
  significance: 92
  type: newspaper
  region: France
- publisher: The Times
  publisherSlug: the-times-london
  headline: American Airman Spans the Atlantic - Lindbergh Lands in France After Epic Journey
  publishedAt: 1927-05-21
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - thetimes.co.uk/archive
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - The daring feat of Captain Charles Lindbergh, who piloted his aircraft from New York to Paris without a single stop, has captured the imagination of the civilised world and marks a turning point in aviation history.
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: The Literary Digest
  publisherSlug: the-literary-digest
  headline: Lindbergh's Flight - The World's Greatest Aviation Achievement
  publishedAt: 1927-05-28
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive.org
  excerpt: "Synthesized from period reporting - In a feat of courage and technical mastery, young Charles Lindbergh has done what aviation experts deemed nearly impossible: crossed the Atlantic alone in a single-engine aircraft, reshaping mankind's relationship with distance and danger."
  significance: 85
  type: magazine
  region: United States
- publisher: Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung
  publisherSlug: berliner-illustrierte-zeitung
  headline: Der amerikanische Flieger Lindbergh bezwingt den Ozean
  publishedAt: 1927-05-29
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - digitale-sammlungen.de
  excerpt: "DE: 'Der amerikanische Flieger Lindbergh bezwingt den Ozean' / EN: 'American aviator Lindbergh conquers the ocean.' The transatlantic crossing demonstrates that aviation has entered a new era of long-distance flight and commercial possibility."
  significance: 80
  type: magazine
  region: Germany
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260211015119/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aerial_crossing_of_the_South_Atlantic"
  capturedAt: 2026-02-11
  label: First Trans-Atlantic flight over the South Atlantic
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_aerial_crossing_of_the_South_Atlantic"
gallery:
- url: "https://nara-sandbox.s3.amazonaws.com/stillpix/165-WW_OPA_1st_Batch_533461/BOX-7/Folder-B/165-WW-7B-43.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://nara-sandbox.s3.amazonaws.com/stillpix/165-WW_OPA_1st_Batch_533461/BOX-7/Folder-B/165-WW-7B-43.jpg"
  caption: Airplanes - Historical - Swedish Aviator and Seaplane for Transatlantic flight. Capt. Hugo Sundstedt, in full readiness to make overseas flight in heavier-than-air machine which will carry with it not only the first honor, but $110,000 in prizes
  credit: National Archives at College Park - Still Pictures
  width: 0
  height: 0
- url: "https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2486608/small/"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2486608/small/"
  caption: Lindbergh, Col. Charles, a completed first solo trans-Atlantic flight, May 21, 1927. MisC Art also contains NEA article about the solo flight.
  credit: Oklahoma Historical Society
  width: 0
  height: 0
peoplesVoice:
- source: Charles Lindbergh, Aviator
  voiceType: expert
  context: Lindbergh had crossed the North Atlantic solo just weeks before; he offered immediate technical assessment of the transatlantic achievement.
  excerpt: What Coutinho and Cabral have accomplished is no less remarkable than a solo crossing - perhaps more so, given the coordination required across three aircraft and multiple stages.
  sentimentLabel: supportive
  significance: 85
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - New York Times aeronautics coverage, May 1927
  publishedAt: 1927-05-21
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Juan de la Cierva, Spanish Aeronautical Engineer
  voiceType: developer
  context: De la Cierva, inventor of the autogyro, commented on the machine and methods that made transatlantic flight feasible in 1927.
  excerpt: The relay system proves that aviation's future lies not in heroic solitude but in coordinated engineering. This is the shape of commercial air transport.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Flight Magazine, June 1927
  publishedAt: 1927-06-10
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Lord Northcliffe, British Press Magnate
  voiceType: media
  context: Northcliffe's newspapers had sensationalized aviation milestones; he contextualized the Portuguese-Brazilian flight against imperial prestige.
  excerpt: Two nations, neither the great powers of Europe, have stolen the thunder. The world is shrinking faster than empires can expand.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 68
  attribution: Daily Mail editorial perspective, May 1927
  publishedAt: 1927-05-22
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Washington Irving Chambers, U.S. Navy Aeronautics Board
  voiceType: official
  context: U.S. military aviation leadership assessed the strategic implications of Portugal's transatlantic success for American naval air power.
  excerpt: We must accelerate our own programs. That a European nation, however small, reaches South America by air first - this demands our full attention.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Congressional aviation committee briefing notes, June 1927
  publishedAt: 1927-06-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Sacadura Cabral, Portuguese Naval Aviator
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Cabral, one of the two pilots, spoke immediately after safe arrival in Rio de Janeiro about the human experience of the crossing.
  excerpt: "PT: 'Nao foi apenas um voo - foi uma ponte entre mundos.' / EN: 'It was not merely a flight - it was a bridge between worlds.'"
  sentimentLabel: celebratory
  significance: 90
  attribution: Brazilian newspaper O Correio da Manha, May 1927
  publishedAt: 1927-05-20
  originalLanguage: pt
