20 October 1913

A number of pilots rose to the challenge set by the French Ligue Nationale Aérienne to "test the possibilities for air travel over long distances" by attempting to trailblaze 3,500 miles (5,600 km) to Cairo. The first pilot to attempt the feat was Pierre Daucourt. He took off from the parade ground at Issy in Paris on 20 October 1913, in a Gnôme powered Borel monoplane and headed east. After many difficulties, Daucourt crashed in the Anatolian mountains on 26 November and his machine was completely burnt out.