Solar Impulse completes US trip with New York landing

The plane flew over the Statute of Liberty before landing at New York's JFK airport Keystone

The Swiss solar-powered plane Solar Impulse 2 has arrived in New York, marking the end of the US leg of its round-the-world flight. The next destination is likely to be either France, Spain or Morocco.

The plane piloted by André Borschberg took off from Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania at 23:18 on Friday night (05:18 Saturday Swiss time) and landed in New York at JFK airport a little under five hours later. Before touchdown, the plane flew over the iconic Statue of Liberty. 

.@andreborschbergExternal link lands in #NYCExternal link after a 5h flight, and completes the crossing of the USA! #futureiscleanExternal link ☀️🇺🇸🎉 https://t.co/pFktjKptoYExternal link

— SOLAR IMPULSE (@solarimpulse) June 11, 2016External link

The next stage will be the long crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, which is expected to take three to four days. Potential destinations are Spain, France or Morocco depending on the weather conditions. The team’s first choice is Seville in Spain, followed by Toulouse in France. Paris and Rabat, Morocco are also in the running. 

According to Solar ImpulseExternal link mission director Raymond Clerc, the plane will remain grounded at JFK airport for at least the next three to four days due to the absence of a suitable weather window. He added that they’re looking at Friday or Saturday as potential take-off days, but it could even be a matter of weeks depending on the weather.