In 1924, Julian, along with Chamberlin, began toying with the idea of performing a transatlantic flight, with stops in Florida, the West Indies, Central America, Brazil, and Saint Paul's Rock (in the mid-Atlantic), from New York City to Liberia. An old seaplane was purchased and refitted for the proposed flight; Julian dubbed it the "Ethiopia". On 4 July, with a crowd of thousands gathered at the banks of the Harlem River to witness his takeoff, Julian boarded his plane, after having UNIA members help raise some last-minute funds to pay off his investors, and soared into the sky. A few minutes would pass before Julian realized that one of his plane's pontoons had filled up with water, throwing the aircraft's weight off balance. Unable to regain control, Julian crashed into Flushing Bay.