Solar Impulse 2 arrives in New York

Solar Impulse 2 arrived in New York City early Saturday to complete the latest leg of its epic zero-fuel journey around the world, Fox News reports.

The solar-powered plane took off from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania after 11 p.m. ET Friday and performed a spectacular flyby of the Statue of Liberty during a 5-hour flight to JFK airport.

“This flight over #Statueofliberty symbolizes US values - liberty of pioneers, liberty to explore, liberty to invent,” tweeted pilot Andre Borschberg, while flying over the iconic statue in New York harbor.

“The #StatueofLiberty welcomes travellers, flying over it now we pay tribute to the special welcome we received here,” he added, in another tweet.

Solar Impulse 2 was originally scheduled to arrive in New York Tuesday but the flight was postponed due to bad weather.

Borschberg’s flight marked the 14th leg of Solar Impulse 2’s attempt to circumnavigate the globe. The plane has travelled 18,540 miles since setting off from on the first leg of the trip from Abu Dhabi to Oman in March 2015, and has racked up almost 390 hours of flight time.

The plane is the brainchild of explorer and Solar Impulse Chairman Piccard, who is taking it in turns with his fellow Swiss pilot Borschberg to fly the aircraft on its journey across the globe.

Solar Impulse 2 proves the immense potential of solar-powered technology, according to Piccard. The plane, he told FoxNews.com last year, could spark increased interest in technologies such as LED lights and electric cars, as well as lightweight vehicles.