Solar Impulse touches down on unscheduled Japan stop

Nagoya

The record-breaking Solar Impulse 2 landed in Japan yesterday on an unscheduled stop after mission controllers decided the weather was not right for the sun-powered plane to cross the vast Pacific Ocean.

 The high-tech aircraft touched down at an airport in Nagoya, central Japan, at around 1450 GMT.

 Pilot Andre Borschberg told reporters in Nagoya that the unplanned diversion was no problem for the mission. "I would say it has no impact," he said, shortly after climbing out of the cramped cockpit.

 "Practically I think it gives us the possibility to be in Japan, which is great. I lived here 30 years ago so it is a great pleasure to be back. "We learned a lot during last night after 40 hours non stop, and demonstrated that the airplane is really doing great."

 The landing had been live streamed on the Solar Impulse website, with viewers treated to scenes of jubilation and relief from the Monaco mission control room when the plane glided to the tarmac in central Japan.

 "We are very grateful to everyone in Japan for helping us," @solarimpulse, the venture's main feed, Tweeted in Japanese."Without the co-operation of everyone here, this landing wouldn't have been possible."

 Borschberg had set off at the controls of Solar Impulse from Nanjing in China more than 40 hours earlier, bound for Hawaii, a distance of some 8,500 kilometres (5,250 miles) that it was expected to cover in a six-day, six-night non-stop flight. 

But flight managers determined earlier Monday that weather the plane would encounter as it neared Hawaii made the flight too risky and diverted it to Japan.