Dieudonné Costes Dieudonné Costes ( 14 November 1892 – 18 May 1973 ) was a French aviator who set flight distance records . He was also a fighter ace during World War I . Life . Costes was born in Septfonds , Tarn - et - Garonne . He received a pilot diploma ( " brevet " ) on 26 September 1912 . During World War I he served in the French Air Service , in MF55 and MF85 Farman squadrons , then in N506 , N507 and N531 fighter Nieuport squadrons , on the Balkan front . He scored there 8 victories ( 6 confirmed ) , the first in April 1917 , the rest in January – September 1918 . He ended the war as a 2nd Lieutenant . After the war he flew in a civilian aviation , starting with Latecoere in 1920 , flying with mail on Toulouse - Casablanca route , then flying on Bordeaux - Paris route in 1921 and on Paris - London route in Air Union airlines in 1923 . From 1925 he became a test pilot in Breguet works . Then he started to perform long - distance and record breaking flights with Breguet 19 aircraft . Long Distance Flights . On 26 September 1926 he flew 4 , 100 km ( 2 , 546 miles ) from Paris to Assuan , with René de Vitrolles , attempting at breaking a world distance record . He broke the world distance record on 28 October 1926 , flying 5 , 396 km ( 3 , 351 miles ) from Paris to Jask , Persia , with J . Rignot , as a part of 19 , 625 - km ( 12 , 187 - mile ) Paris - India - Paris flight . Between 10 October 1927 and 14 April 1928 Costes and Joseph Le Brix flew 57 , 410 km ( 35 , 652 miles ) around the world , in Breguet 19 GR named " Nungesser - Coli " , from Paris through Argentina , Brazil , the United States , Japan , India , and Greece , although they traveled across the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco , California , to Tokyo , Japan , by ship . During the trip , they made the first non - stop aerial crossing of the South Atlantic Ocean on 14 – 15 October 1927 , flying between Saint - Louis , Senegal , and Natal , Brazil . While in South America , they routed themselves through every country in the continent . On 15 – 17 December 1928 Costes , with Paul Codos , set a world distance record in a closed circuit of 8 , 029 km ( 4 , 986 miles ) . On 13 July 1929 Costes and Maurice Bellonte made an attempt at crossing the North Atlantic Ocean westbound , from Villacoublay near Paris to New York , New York , flying the Breguet 19 Super Bidon " " ? " " ( " " Point d ' Interrogation " " or " Question Mark " ) . They returned after 17 hours , however , due to bad weather . On 27 – 29 September 1929 they set the world distance record , flying 7 , 905 km ( 4 , 909 miles ) from Paris to Qiqihar , China . On 1 – 2 September 1930 , Costes with Maurice Bellonte , flew the Breguet 19 Super Bidon " " ? " " from Paris to New York , as the first heavier - than - air aircraft to cross the North Atlantic in the more difficult westbound direction between the North American and European mainlands . They covered either 5 , 850 km ( 3 , 633 miles ) or 6 , 200 km ( 3 , 850 miles ) , according to different sources , in 37 hours 18 minutes . While flying over Portsmouth , New Hampshire , they lost their navigational map out of an open window of the plane . Two children saw the map falling from the sky while they were watching for the flight to cross over their farm . The children , Louise Stef and her brother John , returned the map to Costes , who had asked for its return through the media . During World War II Costes was an instructor in a pilots school in Versailles , as a lieutenant colonel . He died on 18 May 1973 in Paris and is buried in Passy Cemetery . Awards . Costes received the Legion of Honour , the " Croix de guerre " with seven palms and a gold star , and the " Médaille militaire " , among other decorations . He also received the 1929 " Fédération Aéronautique Internationale " Gold Medal and the 1929 Harmon Trophy .