First of three search expeditions for the White Bird, the aircraft flown by Nungessor & Coli, who vanished on transatlantic flight in 1927. October, 1984.
Early on May 8, 1927, twelve days before Charles Lindberg was to make his historic flight, two famous WWI French flying aces took off from Le Bourget airfield near Paris on an east to west flight across the Atlantic to New York. They were one of the first who successfully managed to get off the ground with a fuel-over laden airplane and soar out over the Atlantic.
Charles Nungesser and Francois Coli were already the toast of France. Nungesser had shot down 44 German planes and barnstormed in Europe and the United States after the war. Coli was also an ace, but later gained fame on a long distance flight to Africa.
After takeoff the L’Oiseau blanc (the White Bird), a Levasseur bi-wing, open cockpit aircraft powered by a 450 horsepower Lorraine-Dietrich 12 cylinder engine, dropped its landing gear and flew out over the English Channel. It was last sighted heading over the ocean from the eastern shore of Ireland.
The White Bird then simply vanished and was never seen again. It was not until 1980 when Gunnar Hanson, a freelance writer, researched and published an article on a man by the name of Anson Berry who was living near Machias, Maine, in 1927 and who claimed to hear an aircraft fly over his isolated camp late in the afternoon of May 9th, 1927. Anson, told several friends and neighbors he had heard the plane overhead in the overcast and but could not see it. He also stated the engine sounded erratic and it sounded to him as if the plane crashed in the distance.
Gunner dug deeper and found a number of other reports and a few sightings beginning in Newfoundland and traveling on a line south past Nova Scotia and into the coastal region of Maine. He then ran onto a report by a hunter who said he’d found an old engine buried in the ground sometime in 1950. The site was within a mile of where Anson Berry heard the plane pass.
Gunner organized a group, including the hunter, a gentleman by the name of Ray Beck of Chatham, New York. Coincidentally, Bob Fleming and I were also researching the mysterious flight and heard about Gunner. I contacted him, offered to fund some of the search and flew up to Bangor, Maine.
The country is beautiful, and in the bog areas impossible to penetrate. The first trek we accomplished very little. While preparations were made for a second attempt, I contacted the well respected psychic, Ingo Swann, and asked him to take a crack at it.
He accompanied us on the second try and we came up dry. At the same time there was a group led by a Rick Gillespie who was also searching for the lost plane. Interestingly he didn’t know about our efforts. None of us wished to join his organization because he lived on media hype. And my feeling has always been not to make a big deal out of an expedition unless you can prove you actually discovered your intended target.
Swann later arranged for an experiment with several other psychics. Strange as it seems, working separately they all put the downed aircraft within a quarter of a mile from each other’s projections on the southern slope of the Round Hills near Round Lake.
What can I say. We combed the area foot by foot on the third attempt. The White Bird isn’t there.
The search goes on, however. No one wants to quit.
My personal theory, two in fact, is that it did not come down near where Anson Berry heard it, but some miles further south. Or, and I like this over any others, the plane went down in an impenetrable bog and chances of it ever being found are quite nil.
I heard that the compass was found in the woods and ended up being sold at a flea market in Maine and is now back in the hands of the family? is this correct? if so it proves the plane crashed in Maine, and what about the propeller? wouldn’t that be hanging on some hunters bedroom wall it was a very large unusual propeller. sounds more feaseable its underwater off Newfoundland and not discovered yet Colonel Tom
Off subject but myself and my children love and respect what you do! Bringing things lost to everyone back so we can all enjoy! And not for press but for love of history! Thank you for being you.
I’m headed overseas this fall to do a GPR survey of an area in the Marshall Islands, where I have a photo of Japanese soldiers burying aircraft parts during WW2. I agree with you Clive, Ric Gillespie is powered by media hype and a complete lack of conclusive evidence that Earhart crashed there. He has one clue that places someone there that was involved with Earhart’s disappearance, but he doesn’t know what he has. If I had NUMA’s resources I could solve the mystery in 90 days. I’ve been doing it all out of pocket for over 14 years. That’s how it goes!
I understand they just recently uncovered a photograph of plane wreckage near that area.sounds like its worth investigating. and what a find it would be.
Don C.Petersen
I just don’t understand these researchers busily taking gratuitous potshots at each other. It really is sad, if not shameful, to see it.
Maybe if all of these intelligent people climbed down off their egos, stopped trying to score points off each other and learnt how to co-operate, the cause of science and research would advance 100 years overnight.
Of course, if they had indeed made it to Maine, it wouldn’t have been what they set out to accomplish, nor negate what Lindbergh did–become the first person to fly from either New York to Paris or Paris to New York (which is what Nungesser and Coli were trying to do). Also, as we know, Lindbergh was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic, and, despite what the New York Times stupidly wrote in an article many years ago, it would not “alter history” and not “change the fact that Lindbergh was the first to make it across solo by plane” (paraphrasing)…(duh! Nungesser and Coli = two people in the cockpit!). The truth is that two pilots named Alcock and Brown co-flew the Atlantic non-stop from Newfoundland to Ireland in 1919…Nevetheless, it would be great to know they might have at least made it–even if it was to Maine…still sad, however, that they did not make it alive….
Love the work you do. Can’t get enough of your books. It’s all top notch writing. Hopefully, one day you will discover The resting place of the White Bird and then the pilots can be returned home for a heroes burial. Interesting movie was out several years ago about two young kids. They found the wreckage of the White Bird and had an adventure helping the spirits of the pilots finish their flight. Have you heard of this Movie? Can’t remember the title but it is a very interesting movie.
I live on the coast of maine in washington county.I was a commercial diver here for many years.at the end of every season I would take a special soap and do a fresh water dive to get all the salt out of my gear,low and behold one year I decided to do a drift dive for something fun and different,and came across the strangest object that I’ve seen in the waters of maine to date.A huge airplane propeller sticking out of the silt.Sir, I think that I have the location of your missing plane.As a matter of fact, knowing what I do now, I’m Quite sure of it.I would love to be involved with a project with such historical significance.
I dive with several PADI certified “Weed Control” divers in a lake on the NH / Maine border. We constantly work in near-zero and zero vis conditions harvesting Milfoil (a **nasty** weed) from our lake as a volunteer effort. If what Steve Seavey says is true, (above) I can gather a team to document / inspect / recover (as allowed by Maine law) artifacts as we live about 1 or 2 hour(s) away from that area.
As a Frenchman living in East Machias and fascinated by the story of Nungesser and Coly, if what says Steven Seavey is correct, let us know where he thinks may be the plane is located. We could help him all together to solve this mystery.