Solar Impulse 2, the experimental solar-powered aircraft which became famous in 2016 after completing a global circumnavigation, has crashed into the sea off the coast of Mississippi on May 4, 2026.
The experimental aircraft was operating for Skydweller Aero, a company developing long-endurance, solar-powered platforms for surveillance and reconnaissance missions. This US-Spanish company acquired Solar Impulse 2 in 2019 and converted it to an unmanned aircraft for use in its own development programs.
On the day of the crash, Solar Impulse 2 had taken off from nearby Stennis International Airport (HSA), Mississippi, and was performing a flight test when it reportedly lost power and went down at around 06.22 local time.
The unique aircraft was custom-built by a team lead by Swiss aviation entrepreneurs and adventurers Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg with the purpose of demonstrating the capabilities of zero emissions aircraft. The two Swiss aviators flew Solar Impulse 2 around the world in an epic flight that took them 17 stages across 42,000 kilometers.
Both Piccard and Borschberg continue to be involved in sustainable aviation projects. The former as the leader of Climate Impulse, a project to fly a twin-hull aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen around the world, while the latter went on to found H55, a Swiss company that develops electric powertrains for aircraft.
AeroTime reached out to Skydweller Aero for comment.