1928 Trans-Pacific flight

Sir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith (1897 - 1935), often called by his nickname Smithy, was an early Australian aviator. In 1928, he earned global fame when he made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia. He also made the first non-stop crossing of the Australian mainland, the first flights between Australia and New Zealand, and the first eastward Pacific crossing from Australia to the United States. He also made a flight from Australia to London, setting a new record of 10.5 days. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and co-pilot John Thompson "Tommy" Pethybridge were flying the Lady Southern Cross overnight from Allahabad, India, to Singapore, when they disappeared over the Andaman Sea in the early hours of 8 November 1935. Despite a brave search for 74 hours over Bay of Bengal by test pilot Eric Stanley Greenwood, their bodies were never recovered.