The Solar Impulse, the country’s first solar-powered aircraft, made a safe landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City Saturday night. The plane landed at 11:09 p.m., ending its cross-continental journey that took off from San Francisco in May.
According to New York Post, a tear was found on the left wing at the end of the plane’s journey. This forced the pilot to cancel plans to fly by the Statue of Liberty in order to safely arrive at JFK three hours earlier than planned.
The two pilots, Andre Borschberg and Bertrand Piccord, took turns flying the plane over the U.S. As reported by LA Times, neither the pilot nor aircraft was ever in any danger due to the sooner than expected landing.
The idea of solar-powered airplanes is to be more energy efficient and use way less power and resources. In 2015, they plan to upgrade this same aircraft and attempt a flight around the entire world.