Solar-powered plane completes journey across Pacific Ocean

By: 8 years ago

This April 9, 2016 photo provided by Bertrand Piccard via Global Newsroom shows Piccard taking a selfie on board Solar Impulse 2 during a test flight over the Pacific Ocean. The solar-powered airplane on an around-the-world journey had traveled 80 percent of the way from Hawaii to California by Saturday, April 23. The aircraft's destination on this leg of the journey is Mountain View, Calif., at the southern end of San Francisco Bay. (Bertrand Piccard/Global Newsroom via AP)

This April 9 photo provided by Bertrand Piccard via Global Newsroom shows Piccard taking a selfie on board Solar Impulse 2 during a test flight over the Pacific Ocean. AP

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—A solar-powered airplane on a journey around the world has landed in California, completing a risky, three-day flight across the Pacific Ocean from Hawaii.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard landed the Solar Impulse 2 in Mountain View, south of San Francisco, at 11:45 p.m. on Saturday following a 62-hour, nonstop flight without fuel.

The aircraft started its journey in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan. The plane is attempting to circumnavigate the globe to promote clean energy and the spirit of innovation.

The trans-Pacific leg is the riskiest part of the plane’s global travels because of the lack of emergency landing sites.