Aviation History – August 15, 1935. On this Thursday, August 15, 1935, the circumnavigation of the world by air in which the American aviator and actor Wiley Post and Willy Rogers had embarked was cut short: indeed, the two men being victims of a serious plane crash on this day. A disaster that will unfortunately be fatal to them.
By taking the Arctic route, the two men wanted to reach Russia, departing from the city of Seattle, a stopover in Siberia being scheduled in particular for a hunting trip, but on the way that led them from Fairbanks to Point -Barrow, a mechanical problem will put a stop to their air raid.
The trip will go wrong not far from Point-Barrow, the peninsula being some 20 kilometers away. Lost in the fog, Wiley Post and Willy Rogers will be forced to land: landing on a lagoon, they will ask their way before leaving and that’s where the drama will be played out, as they take altitude, they will experience engine failure and eventually end up in a river. A crash that will be fatal… Wiley Post’s wife, who was initially supposed to participate in the raid before giving up, will have escaped the worst.
