The first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean happened in 1919, eight years before Charles Lindbergh's famous trip.

On June 14, 1919, John Alcock and Arthur Brown took off from Newfoundland, Canada. They flew a Vickers Vimy, which was a twin-engine bomber plane from World War I. The plane used two Rolls-Royce Eagle engines with 360 horsepower each. This allowed them to fly at a speed of about 115 miles per hour.The pilots faced many dangers during the 1,890-mile trip. Ice blocked the engine air intakes, and Brown had to climb onto the wings to clear it by hand. Their heated suits stopped working, leaving them in freezing temperatures. Thick fog also made it impossible to see the stars or the horizon for navigation.Brown used a tool called a sextant to find their position whenever the clouds cleared. After nearly 16 hours, they reached Ireland and landed in a soft bog. The plane's nose stuck into the mud, but both men were safe. This flight proved that airplanes could travel long distances over the ocean.