George Otto Noville George Otto Noville ( April 24 , 1890 - January 3 , 1963 ) also known as " Noville " and " Rex " was a pioneer in polar and trans - Atlantic aviation in the 1920s , and winner of the Distinguished Flying Cross . He served with Commander Richard E . Byrd on the historic ( but controversial ) 1926 flight to the North Pole , as third in command . He was flight engineer on the America ( the second plane to fly non stop over the Atlantic Ocean ) , and was executive officer of Byrd ’ s Second Antarctic Exploration 1933 - 35 . Noville Peninsula in Antarctic is named after him . Biography . He was born on April 24 , 1890 in Cleveland , Ohio . He was the son of Otto J . Noville ( 1870 – 1936 ) In 1927 in a trimotor Fokker C - 2 monoplane , the " America " he flew with Richard E . Byrd , Bernt Balchen , and Bert Acosta on their record setting transatlantic flight . In 1927 , Byrd decided to partner with Floyd Bennett ( his co - pilot on the North Pole flight ) , and attempt to win the Orteig Prize which offered a $ 25 , 000 reward for the first non - stop flight from New York City to Paris . The plane chosen for this flight was a Fokker C - 2 monoplane named " America " . George O . Noville was selected as the flight and fuel engineer . On April 20 , 1927 , during a test flight in Hasbrouck Heights , New Jersey , the plane somersaulted when landing , breaking Byrd ’ arm and knocking him unconscious . The crash also injured Bennett and Noville required surgery for internal injuries . A fourth person on " America " , plane designer Anthony Fokker , was not injured ) . Fokker later told Bennett that he should have refused to conduct the test flight with Byrd , Bennett and Noville on board because there was no load in the rear of the plane . As a result , the plane was nose heavy . While Byrd and his crew regrouped from the accident , Charles Lindbergh won the Orteig Prize when he landed in Paris on May 21 , 1927 . According to The Big Aviation Book for Boys by Richard E . Byrd , Noville was one of the group who gathered to wish Lindbergh godspeed right before his historic flight . After several delays , Byrd ’ s " America " took off for Paris on June 29 , 1927 with Noville and two relief pilots , Bert Acosta and Bernt Balchen . The weather was terrible during the flight . Rain and strong winds made navigating near impossible . When " America " reached Paris after 40 hours , a heavy fog prevented it from landing . Byrd and his crew flew around Paris for about six hours waiting for the fog to lift . When it failed to do so , they flew west and landed in the ocean off of Ver - sur - Mar ( later known as Omaha Beach in Normandy ) without fatalities on July 1 , 1927 . Byrd , Acosta , Balchen and Noville ended up entering France in a rubber life raft as " America " sunk . Popular Science magazine , August 1928 , featured an extensive article with photos about this flight , " “ Dick Byrd — Adventurer . The Absorbing Story of the America ’ s Flight across the Atlantic – a Valiant Escape from Death in Blinding Fog ” " Upon return to the U . S . , Byrd and Noville were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross . On November 14 , Noville and other “ Air Heroes of 1927 ” were honored at the White House by President Calvin Coolidge . Noville once again joined an adventure with Byrd , serving as executive officer of Byrd ’ s Second Antarctic Exploration 1933 - 35 . He died on January 3 , 1963 in Chula Vista . Legacy . The Noville Peninsula ( 71°56 ′ S 98°35 ′ W ) , a high ice - covered peninsula about 30 nautical miles ( 60 km ) long , between Peale and Murphy Inlets on the north side of Thurston Island was named for Noville .