Caudron C.630 Simoun
Caudron C.630 Simoun s/n 7042 December 1935

Caudron C.630 Simoun s/n 7042 was ordered in July 1935, built and delivered to its owner Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in September 1935. Saint-Exupéry accompanied by André Prévot as the navigator and engineer decided at the end of December to fly from Paris to Saigon to establish a new record. (Planned route was Paris – Tunis – Benghazi – Cairo – Saigon). After 19 hours and 38 minutes of flight, while cruising by night over the Egyptian desert, the crew encountered poor weather conditions with heavy rain fall. Weather forced them to reduce their flight altitude several times until the aircraft struck a sand dune and crashed near Wadi el Natrûn, Egypt. The simoun was heavily damaged, but Saint Exupéry and Prévot were unhurt. Without food or water, Antoine de Saint Exupéry and Andre Prévot wandered across the desert searching for help. After four days, they were rescued by Bedouin tribesmen.
Saint Exupéry wrote about the experience in "Wind, Sand and Stars", published in 1939. It was the basis for his famous novella, "The Little Prince".