When the soldiers saw the Fokker coming in to land, they began running along the beach to meet it. In actual fact, the beach was being used for training by a local army unit. Instead, Donald Drew landed the plane on what he believed to be a deserted beach near Dunkirk. Here, the pilot could have alerted the coastguard to Loewenstein’s disappearance. Alfred Loewenstein had disappeared into thin air.Īn obvious course of action would have been for the plane to divert to the airstrip at St Inglevert, which lay between Calais and Dunkirk. Worried that Loewenstein might have been taken ill, he forced open the door. Baxter grew concerned and knocked on the toilet door. Then, as the plane headed out over the Channel, he went to the toilet compartment at the rear.Īccording to statements later made by Baxter ten minutes passed and he had still not returned to his seat. Loewenstein spent the first half of the flight making notes. It took two strong men to open it in mid-air, due to the slipstream pressing against it. This door was clearly marked EXIT and was equipped with a spring-loaded latch controlled from inside. A minute or so later, they were flying over the English Channel.Īt the rear of the Fokker’s cabin there was a windowless door that led into a small toilet. Before long, everyone on board could see the Kent coastline below. Within minutes the plane was airborne and climbing to its cruising altitude of 4,000 feet. Shortly after 6 p.m., the Fokker FVII, a small monoplane, set off down the grass runway. Once the Fokker had taken off, Drew and Little had no direct access to the cabin. The cockpit was a sealed unit with only a porthole connecting it to the rest of the plane. In the cockpit were Drew and Robert Little, the aircraft mechanic. There were also two women, Eileen Clarke and Paula Bidalon, his stenographers. The other people in the cabin included Fred Baxter, Loewenstein’s loyal valet, and Arthur Hodgson, his male secretary. Pilot Drew stood by the doorway of the aircraft as the passengers and crew boarded. There were a total of six people on the plane, in addition to Alfred Loewenstein. The pilot, Donald Drew, assured him that it would be a smooth flight. It was a fine evening for flying with scarcely a cloud in the sky. Loewenstein was pleased to be flying home on that July day in 1928. And they wanted it sooner rather than later. By 1928, these investors wanted some return on their money. In 1926, he established International Holdings and Investments, which raised huge amounts of capital from wealthy investors. His various companies provided electric power for developing countries and before long he was being sought out by presidents and prime ministers around the globe.īut he also had many enemies. He was a spectacularly wealthy entrepreneur: so wealthy that he was widely known as the world’s richest man.Īlready rich before the First World War, his fortune had increased dramatically in the peace that followed. Indeed, he was recognizable wherever he went. Loewenstein was instantly recognizable to the staff at the airport.
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