Damage To Airplane Causes Flight Plans To Be Altered

The last leg of the Solar Impulse flight across the United States was marred by damage to the airplane, which caused a few tense moments and a change in the schedule, including scrapping a photo pass by the Statue of Liberty in New York.

Solar Impulse successfully landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Saturday, setting a new milestone in the history of aviation: for the first time a plane capable of flying day and night powered exclusively by solar energy has crossed the United States from the West to the East Coasts without using a single drop of fuel.

André Borschberg, Solar Impulse Co-founder and CEO, landed Solar Impulse at JFK on Sunday, July 6 at 11:09 p.m. EDT, 3 hours earlier than planned because of a rip in the fabric on the lower side of the left wing. The flight took 18 hours and 23 minutes after departing Washington Dulles at 0446 EDT on Saturday.

NBC News reports that the damage forced to team to abandon a planned photo pass near the Statue of Liberty, and to quickly make arrangement with air traffic controllers to accommodate the landing three hours earlier than planned. The Solar Impulse team said that the plane was never in any danger.

“This last leg was especially difficult due to the damage of the fabric on the left wing. It obliged the team to envisage all the possible scenarios, including bailing out over the Atlantic. But this type of problem is inherent to every experimental endeavor. In the end, this didn't prevent us from succeeding in our Across America mission and provided an invaluable learning experience in preparation for the round-the-world tour in 2015,” said André Borschberg shortly after landing, adding “we extend our gratitude to all airport and government authorities whose precious support made this mission possible.”

It is still not known what caused the damage to the airplane.

The arrival of Solar Impulse in New York City marks the culmination of its ambitious journey Across America, which started on May 3rd in San Francisco, California. The journey took a total of 105 hours 41 minutes covering 3,511 miles flown at an average speed of 28.8 knots. Before reaching New York, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg alternately flew Solar Impulse to Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Washington D.C. The plane stopped over in each of these cities giving the opportunity to the team to organize public viewings and political meetings with high level representatives such as Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, to promote clean technologies, energy efficiency and renewable energies.

“Flying coast-to-coast has always been a mythical milestone full of challenges for aviation pioneers. During this journey, we had to find solutions for a lot of unforeseen situations, which obliged us to develop new skills and strategies. In doing so, we also pushed the boundaries of clean technologies and renewable energies to unprecedented levels,” said Dr. Bertrand Piccard, Solar Impulse Initiator, Chairman and pilot.

(Images provided by Solar Impulse)

FMI: www.solarimpulse.com