Wrong Way Corrigan's Wild Ride: The Unbelievable Tale of an Accidental Transatlantic Flight

The unbelievable true story of pilot Douglas Corrigan, who took off from New York to fly to California, but landed in Ireland instead.



On July 17, 1938, American pilot Douglas Corrigan took off from New York City’s Floyd Bennett Field for a long-haul trip. He had 320 gallons of gas in a rickety Curtiss Robin airplane and a license to fly cross-country to California. But when he should have turned west for his route across America, Corrigan continued east. The following morning, he landed in Dublin, Ireland. Was it truly a mistake? Or the fulfillment of the dream of flying across the Atlantic?



Award-winning author Mara Rockliff traces the improbable and singular story of Corrigan’s flight. From his early days as a pilot and aircraft mechanic—including time building Charles Lindbergh’s “Spirit of St. Louis”—to the media frenzy that surrounded his “accidental” journey, Wrong Way Corrigan’s Wild Ride is a fast-paced, wildly entertaining account of the golden days of aviation and of the first (and only) pilot to fly across the Atlantic “by mistake.”