Solar-Powered Plane Ends Coast-To-Coast Trip With A Suspenseful Landing

The plane landed three hours earlier than planned, at 11:09 p.m. EDT, because of a rip in the fabric on the lower side of the left wing, according to the company's website.

The plane was not in danger, but it made the last leg of a near 230-mile journey "especially difficult," Swiss pilot André Borschberg said.

Borschberg is the co-founder and CEO of Solar Impulse. He and one other pilot, Bertrand Piccard, have been alternately flying the aircraft since leaving San Francisco on their cross-country journey on May 3 with stops in Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Washington D.C.

Before landing at JFK, the aircraft was supposed to fly over several New York City landmarks. Those plans hit a snag when the tear was discovered, forcing "the team to envisage all the possible scenarios, including bailing out over the Atlantic," Borschberg said.

The plane landed safely after a flying time of 18 hours and 23 minutes.