Her flight across North America was not without incident: an undercarriage failure on landing at Medford, Oregon, caused extensive damage and another week's delay. She reached her announced destination of her mother's birthplace, New Albany, Indiana, by way of San Francisco, San Diego, St. Louis and Chicago. A one-week delay followed a crash on takeoff from Baltimore, and she finally reached New York City in early February 1931. She sailed on the to Le Havre, and on 19 February 1931 flew to Lympne Airport, having flown about . On 20 February 1931, she was given an aerial escort by Amy Johnson, Winifred Spooner and others to Croydon Airport, where a reception of press and celebrities awaited her. She was the first person to fly from England to Japan, the first to fly across the Yellow Sea, and the first woman to fly around the world alone (crossing the oceans by ship).