As the newspapers reported itRené Fonck's New York–Paris flight

As printed: Giant Sikorsky Plane Crumples On Take Off, 2 Die

ContextA $25,000 prize offered by hotelier Raymond Orteig awaits the first nonstop flight between New York and Paris; French war ace René Fonck's huge Sikorsky biplane, heavy with fuel, never left the ground at Roosevelt Field. Fonck and his navigator scrambled clear, but two crewmen were trapped as the wreck burned before a crowd of a thousand.