NAMES IN THE NEWS : Channel Anniversary Flight Ditched

A pilot trying to re-enact the first flight across the English Channel on its 80th anniversary was forced to ditch her plane just two miles short of the British coast today.

Gloria Pullan was commemorating French aviator Louis Bleriot’s July 25, 1909, flight from Calais, France, to Dover in an authentic Bleriot XI monoplane, the same type used for his crossing.

“I took off from Calais, and it was a beautiful flight until I started losing power,” she said. “Gradually the aircraft went down, and I had to ditch in the sea about two miles off Dover.”

Pullan, 36, was rescued by a Royal Air Force helicopter after being in the water for three minutes.

She was taken to a field atop the famous White Cliffs of Dover where a large welcoming party was waiting on the spot where Bleriot landed.

“It was so sad,” she said. “I think the aircraft has been lost. I was enjoying it so much, and I would do it again any time. I am sorry I could not bring the airplane in to land for the official reception.”