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Solar Plane Lands In Spain After Historic Atlantic Crossing

The pilots used no fuel to complete the epic trip.
The sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 aircraft lands at Sevilla airport on June 23, 2016, after a 70-hour journey from New York powered only by sunlight.The sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 aircraft set off from New York's JFK airport early June 20, embarking on the transatlantic leg of its record-breaking flight around the world to promote renewable energy. The round-the-world solar flight is estimated to take some 500 flight hours and cover 35,000 km with Swiss founders and pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg landing every few days to switch between piloting and hosting public events. / AFP / CRISTINA QUICLER (Photo credit should read CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP/Getty Images)
CRISTINA QUICLER via Getty Images
The sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 aircraft lands at Sevilla airport on June 23, 2016, after a 70-hour journey from New York powered only by sunlight.The sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 aircraft set off from New York's JFK airport early June 20, embarking on the transatlantic leg of its record-breaking flight around the world to promote renewable energy. The round-the-world solar flight is estimated to take some 500 flight hours and cover 35,000 km with Swiss founders and pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg landing every few days to switch between piloting and hosting public events. / AFP / CRISTINA QUICLER (Photo credit should read CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP/Getty Images)
The sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 aircraft lands at Seville Airport in southwest Spain on Thursday
CRISTINA QUICLER via Getty Images
The sun-powered Solar Impulse 2 aircraft lands at Seville Airport in southwest Spain on Thursday

SEVILLE, Spain (Reuters) -- An airplane powered solely by the sun landed safely in Seville in Spain early on Thursday after an almost three-day flight across the Atlantic from New York in one of the longest legs of the first ever fuel-less flight around the world.

The single-seat Solar Impulse 2 touched down shortly after 7:30 a.m. local time in Seville after leaving John F. Kennedy International Airport about 2.30 a.m. ET on Jun. 20.

The flight of just over 71 hours was the 15th leg of the round-the-world journey by the plane piloted in turns by Swiss aviators Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg.

"Oh-la-la, absolutely perfect," Piccard said after landing, thanking his engineering crew for their efforts.

With a cruising speed of around 70 kilometers an hour (43 miles per hour), similar to an average car, the plane has more than 17,0000 solar cells built in to wings with a span bigger than that of a Boeing 747.

(Reporting by Marcelo Pozo; Writing by Paul Day; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

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