Payne, meanwhile, built up the publicity for the flight, parceling out information to the public in the weeks leading up to their departure. Not happy with merely writing about the flight, the newspaper editor also decided to accompany Bertaud and Hill in Old Glory, as the Fokker had been dubbed.

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There was never any doubt that Hill would serve as the co-pilot during the attempt (he was not taken along for the ride, as some authors would later claim). His skills and experience were viewed as essential to the mission’s success. Old Glory’s first test flight took place on July 30.

Fully loaded and fueled, the Fokker weighed all of 12,700 pounds. Elaborate preparations were made to ensure the safety of the pilots and passenger. The plane was equipped with the latest survival gear and carried a radio station with the call letters WRHP (for William Randolph Hearst). Old Glory also carried a waterproof, wind-powered automatic transmitter, designed to send out the radio call letters in Morse code, allowing ships and stations along its proposed northern route to track their progress.

The original plans called for Old Glory to take off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, N.Y. But the fliers became concerned that they would run out of runway if they took off from Roosevelt fully loaded. They decided to make a change to a location with a longer runway. On September 2, Hill flew the Fokker to the airfield at Old Orchard Beach, in Maine. Hearst had by then begun to have doubts about the trip, and he sent Payne a series of telegrams urging him to call off the flight. But the editor refused to reconsider. The flight would take place as planned, and he would accompany Hill and Bertaud.

Old Glory’s takeoff on September 6, 1927, was a spectacle — thanks in no small part to the publicity generated by the Daily Mirror. More than a thousand spectators lined the roads near the airfield, and National Guard units had to be brought in to control the crowds. Telegrams offering prayers and best wishes poured in from all over the world. Old Glory would be carrying letters from the U.S. secretary of state, as well as greetings from the mayor of New York to European heads of state.

Hill had won a coin toss to determine who would pilot the plane on the initial leg. Bertaud attended mass at a nearby church on the morning of the flight, and a priest blessed the plane in a final ceremony before they headed down the runway. As the men were about to leave, Payne’s wife raced up to Hill and kissed him, tucking a hastily scribbled letter into his hand. Mrs. Bertaud and Mrs. Payne had decided on this course, since Hill had no female relative to see him off. The note said simply, You are a fine fellow, and we all love you.

It was 12:23 p.m. when Hill got the heavily laden plane airborne. Two chase planes followed Old Glory as she headed north. Bertaud sent his first message at 2:55 p.m., followed by a second at 3:55 p.m. saying all was well, but that the plane seemed heavy.

The sightings confirmed Bertaud’s messages as time went on, for most indicated that Old Glory was flying low. The last reported sighting occurred at 11:57 p.m., when the Fokker flew over the steamship California about 350 miles east of Cape Race, Newfoundland. The plane appeared to be about 300 feet above the water.

Nothing more was heard from the crew until suddenly, at 3:57 a.m. on September 7, Bertaud radioed an SOS message, followed six minutes later by a second distress call. The steamship Transylvania, captained by David Bone, reported both calls and changed course, preparing to rescue the men if possible. But it took Transylvania five hours to reach the spot where Bone calculated that the plane had most likely gone down. Other ships joined Transylvania in a frantic search for the aircraft and its crew. But after 13 hours of fruitless searching — made more difficult by fog-shrouded waves and threatening skies — the rescue ships returned to their scheduled runs. Newspapers screamed worried headlines, and the fliers’ families met to console one another and wait for further word.

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