11 Facts About Dagoberto Godoy

Dagoberto Godoy Fuentealba was a Chilean military pilot and the first person to fly over the Andes.

Dagoberto Godoy was orphaned at the age of two and was raised by his maternal aunt Petronila y Transito Fuentealba.

Dagoberto Godoy entered the Escuela Militar del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins military school in 1910, destined for a posting in the Batallon de Ferrocarrileros of the Army Engineers.

Dagoberto Godoy took part in several international competitions in 1916, winning the President of the Republic Prize, and coming second in a race held in Buenos Aires.

Dagoberto Godoy crashed into a fence, damaging his landing gear, propeller and starboard wing, and hitting his head on the dashboard, receiving a slight concussion.

Dagoberto Godoy eventually returned to Chile to public acclaim, and was promoted to captain.

Dagoberto Godoy's feat encouraged others, with Lieutenant Armando Cortinez Mujica flying another Bristol to Argentina and back on 5 April 1919, and the same year Sergeant Jose del Carmen Ojeda established the first South American altitude record of 7,188 metres.

Dagoberto Godoy left the army on 15 July 1924, and married Ernestina Lisbon Uribe the following year, with whom he had six children.

In 1930 the Chilean Air Force was created as an independent branch, and in 1936, Dagoberto Godoy was granted the honorary rank of Capitan de Bandada.

In 1952 Dagoberto Godoy was promoted to the honorary rank of Comandante de Grupo, and to General de Brigada Aerea in 1957.

Dagoberto Godoy died in Santiago de Chile on 8 September 1960.