John Rodgers ( naval officer , World War I ) John Rodgers ( January 15 , 1881 – August 27 , 1926 ) was an officer in the United States Navy and a pioneering aviator . Biography . Rodgers was the great - grandson of Commodores Rodgers and Perry . He was born in Washington , D . C . and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1903 . His early naval career included service on ships of various types before studying flying in 1911 and becoming the second American naval officer to fly for the United States Navy . In September 1911 , Lieutenant John Rodgers assembled and flew a crated Wright Model B - 1 aircraft delivered by Orville Wright at an armory in Annapolis , Maryland , and then bringing naval flight as a pioneer to the United States Navy . He commanded Division 1 , Submarine Force , Atlantic Fleet in 1916 ; and , after the United States entered World War I , he commanded the Submarine Base at New London , Connecticut . Following the war , he served in European waters and received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for outstanding work on minesweeping operations in the North Sea . After several important assignments during the next five years , he commanded Aircraft Squadrons , Battle Fleet , in Langley in 1925 . That year he led the first attempt at a non - stop flight from California to Hawaii . Given the technology of the time , this tested the limits of both aircraft range and the accuracy of aerial navigation . The expedition was to include three planes . Rodgers commanded the flying boat PN - 9 No . 1 . The PN - 9 No . 3 was commanded by Lt . Allen P . Snody . The third plane was to have been a new design , which was not completed in time to join the expedition . Due to the risks , the Navy positioned 10 guard ships spaced 200 miles apart between California and Hawaii to refuel or recover the aircraft if necessary . The two PN - 9s departed San Pablo Bay , California ( near San Francisco ) on August 31 . Lt . Snody ’ s plane had an engine failure about five hours into its flight , was forced to land in the ocean , and was safely recovered . Rodgers ’ s flight proceeded with few difficulties for more than 1200 miles . However , higher than expected fuel consumption and a weaker than predicted tailwind made it necessary for the plane to land in the ocean and refuel . The plane headed for a refueling ship , but limitations of the navigation technology and erroneous navigation information provided by the ship ’ s crew caused Rodgers and his crew to miss the ship . The flying boat was forced to land in the ocean when it ran out of fuel on September 1 . Since the position of the plane was not known while it was in the air and the plane ’ s radio could not transmit when the plane was floating on the water , Rodgers and his crew were not found by an extensive , multi - day search by planes and a large number of ships . After passing a night without rescue , Rodgers and his crew used fabric from a wing to make a sail and sailed towards Hawaii , several hundred miles away . Later the plane ’ s crew used metal flooring to fashion leeboard s to improve their ability to steer the flying boat while it was sailing . Finally , nine days later , after sailing the plane 450 miles to within 15 miles of Nawiliwili Bay , Kauai , the plane and its crew were found by submarine on routine patrol , and they were towed near the reef outside of the port . The harbor master and his daughter rowed out to the plane and helped Rodgers and his crew surf over the reef and into the safety of the harbor . By the time they were found by the submarine , Rodgers and his crew had subsisted a week without food and with limited water . He later shared with a newspaper , " We were taken care of by the good people of the island , who insisted on treating us as invalids , whereas as a matter of fact we were in very good shape and perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves . " After their return , Rodgers and his crew were treated as heroes . Also , despite not reaching Hawaii by air , their flight established a new non - stop air distance record for seaplanes of 1992 miles ( 3206 km ) . After this experience , Rodgers served as Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics until his accidental death in an airplane crash after the plane he was piloting suddenly nose - dived into the Delaware River on August 27 , 1926 . Legacy . Six ships were named in honor of Rodgers , his grandfather and great - grandfather – and . John Rodgers Airport ( now Kalaeloa Airport ) was also named after him . He was a cousin of pioneer transcontinental pilot Cal Rodgers . In 2007 , a full - length feature screenplay , " Hawaii Calls " , depicting these historic events was created by Rick Helin , a California screenwriter . As of early 2008 , it is in the early pre - production stage .