George Otto Noville

[3] He was flight engineer on the America (the third plane to fly non stop over the Atlantic Ocean), and was executive officer of Byrd's Second Antarctic Exploration 1933-35.In 1927, in a trimotor Fokker C-2 monoplane, named America he flew with Richard E. Byrd, Bernt Balchen, and Bert Acosta on their record-setting transatlantic flight.On April 20, 1927, during a test flight in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, the plane somersaulted when landing, breaking Byrd's arm and knocking him unconscious.Byrd, Acosta, Balchen and Noville ended up entering France in a rubber life raft as America sank after landing on the water.The Absorbing Story of the America's Flight across the Atlantic – a Valiant Escape from Death in Blinding Fog"[9] Upon return to the U.S., Byrd and Noville were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by Secretary of the Navy Wilbur on July 19.