The association “A la recherche de l’Oiseau Blanc” can now prove that the Oiseau Blanc, the first aircraft to cross the North Atlantic from East to West, was seen and heard by at least twelve people on the East coast of Newfoundland on the morning of the 9th of May 1927. It is therefore confirmed that Nungesser and Coli did manage to arrive near Saint-Pierre and Miquelon after 35 hours of flight. Consequently they were the first people ever to cross the Atlantic ocean by air, from East to West! Unfortunately, it was the prohibition era and bootleggers and coastguards were fighting in the Saint-Pierre and Miquelon area. Nungesser and Coli were caught in the fog, without petrol and asked for help in vain. Twelve days later, Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic Ocean and became a hero. In June 2013, the association organized an emotional ceremony in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, with numerous key journalists from France, Canada and USA, in presence of Erik Lindbergh himself, Charles Lindbergh’s grandson, who threw white flowers on the sea in recognition and memory of Nungesser, Coli and l’Oiseau Blanc.
