Solar Impulse 2, famed for a fuel-free round-the-world flight, was converted into a drone and later crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. Investigators are probing the accident.
WASHINGTON, United States — The experimental plane Solar Impulse 2, which completed a historic round-the-world trip in 2016 without using jet fuel, crashed into the Gulf of Mexico recently, its owner revealed.Flown by Swiss pilots Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg, Solar Impulse 2 circumnavigated the globe in 17 stages, covering a remarkable 26,700 miles (43,000 kilometers) across four continents, two oceans and three seas, in 23 days of flying without using a drop of fuel.Three
years after the globe-trotting flight, the solar-powered vessel was sold to Skydweller Aero, which converted the aircraft into a drone to carry out ‘controlled ditching,’ the company said in a press release issued Tuesday.Skydweller Aero said Solar Impulse 2 took off from Stennis, Mississippi on April 26 but crashed into the Gulf of Mexico on May 4.’Ultimately, a record-breaking flight of 8 days and 14 minutes validates the reality of perpetual, solar-powered flight in a
military mission-relevant environment,’ the company said, in reference to a US Navy exercise in which the vessel was used.The US National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating the accident.
Solar Impulse 2, drone conversion, Gulf of Mexico crash, NTSB investigation, Swiss solar aircraft, Skydweller Aero, fuel-free flight