Solar-powered plane forced to make unexpected stop
TOKYO -- A solar plane attempting to fly around the world without a drop of fuel was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Nagoya because of bad weather.
The Swiss pilot took off from Nanjing, China, on Sunday for Hawaii on what was to be the longest leg of the journey.
But on Monday, Solar Impulse 2 instead landed in Nagoya, Japan.
Bertrand Piccard, half of the duo taking turns to fly the plane around the world, said Monday that for the crew, it was one of those "strange moments of life between elation and disappointment."
As his counterpart André Borschberg prepared to land the Solar Impulse 2 in Japan, Piccard said the weather front in the mission's path was simply "too dangerous to cross," but added that thus far, everyone has been "extremely happy with the behavior of the plane."
The journey started in March in Abu Dhabi, and the plane has stopped in Oman, India, Myanmar and China. The 5,079-mile flight from Nanjing to Hawaii was the seventh of 12 flights and the longest and most dangerous.
Borschberg took off from Nanjing, China, at 2:39 a.m. Sunday (1439 Eastern Saturday) in the Solar Impulse 2 for a flight across the Pacific Ocean expected to last six days and five nights, or at least 130 hours.
Borschberg and fellow Swiss pilot Piccard have been taking turns flying the single-seater Swiss plane during a five-month journey to promote renewable energy use.
"This is the moment of truth," Borschberg, 62, said before takeoff.
He said that if successful, the flight to Hawaii will demonstrate the credibility of the vision he and Piccard embraced 16 years ago "to change our mindset regarding the enormous potential of clean technologies and renewable energies."
After Hawaii, the plan is for Piccard to pilot the aircraft on to Phoenix, Arizona.