New York: The Solar Impulse 2 aircraft flew by the Statue of Liberty, ending the US portion of its bid to circle the globe using only solar power.
"It's absolutely incredible," Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg said over a live video feed as the iconic statue lit up the night below him. "It's a dream here."
Cameras in a boat in New York harbor captured the innovative solar powered aircraft as it flew over the Verrazano Bridge and headed toward the towering Lady Liberty.
It circled the statue and cruised along the Manhattan skyline before turning back south for the landing at Kennedy, one minute ahead of schedule at 3:59 am.
Ending the US crossing at the Statue of Liberty "is a very strong moment for me", said Borschberg as he approached New York, calling it a "symbol of the freedom of enterprise, the freedom to innovate."
Borschberg has alternated with fellow Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard, a doctor who made the first non-stop balloon flight around the world in 1999. Their goal is to be the first to circumnavigate the Earth with the sun as their aircraft's only source of power.
It typically travels at a mere 48 kilometres per hour, although its flight speed can double when exposed to full sunlight. Borschberg skimmed over Pennsylvania at an altitude of less than 900 metres, descending to 500 metres as the plane crossed over the bays at the entrance to New York harbor.
Borschberg, who fielded phone calls from well-wishers and journalists during the flight, told one interviewer he could see the light grow denser and denser as he crossed out of Pennsylvania in the approach to New York.
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