{"id":96,"date":"2026-05-10T15:33:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T15:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=96"},"modified":"2026-05-10T15:33:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T15:33:27","slug":"massive-experimental-aircraft-crashes-off-us-coastline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=96","title":{"rendered":"Massive experimental aircraft crashes off US coastline"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The Solar Impulse 2, a long-range experimental aircraft,\u00a0crashed in the Gulf of Mexico when it lost power during an unmanned test flight on May 4, a report from the National Transportation Safety Board said. There were no fatalities or injuries.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=94\">Pirates get a season-high 20 hits and beat the Giants 13-3<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"x1px y1px vh abs\" height=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-channels-pixel.ex.co\/events\/0012000001fxZm9AAE?integrationType=DEFAULT&amp;template=design%2Farticle%2Fplatypus_two_column.tpl\" width=\"1\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Developed by entrepreneur Andr\u00e9 Borschberg and Bertrand Piccard, a descendant of famous European explorers who pioneered scientific advancements both in the air and under the sea, the sun-powered plane has undertaken several successful test flights since it was developed in 2015. The solar-powered aircraft circumnavigated the world in 2015 and 2016.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u201cThe Solar Impulse team is saddened by the loss of an important technological flagship,\u201d the company said in a statement released on Friday. Solar Impulse said the plane had been taken over by\u00a0Skydweller Aero, an Oklahoma company developing autonomous aircraft, which heavily modified the Solar Impulse 2. The plane was lost during one of these unmanned flights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The slender, fixed-wing single-engine aircraft is described by Piccard as symbolic \u2014 it\u2019s not meant to carry passengers and instead represents a potential clean energy solution to fossil fuels, according to his website. Per the BBC, the solar-powered aircraft\u2019s wingspan measures 72 meters, making it wider than a Boeing 747.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>It took an unconventional person to develop the equally unconventional aircraft.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>A descendant of Auguste Piccard, who invented the bathyscaphe, a deep-sea submersible, and Jacques Piccard, who was on the first mission to the Mariana\u00a0Trench, Bertrand Piccard comes from a famous family that has set multiple world records. Auguste Piccard launched balloon flights in the stratosphere in 1931 and 1932 to study cosmic rays, collaborating with his son, Jacques, who became a prominent undersea explorer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=92\">How a $3.8B project made an \u2018eyesore\u2019 of a Calif. airport cool again<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>And, according to his website, Bertrand Piccard studied psychiatry and developed an interest in hypnotherapy during balloon flights, where he struggled to sleep and stay awake. A disciple of Ericksonian hypnosis, Piccard used this practice to train doctors and psychologists, as well as conquer the fear of the unknown, his website said. \u201cBy plunging into a state of trance, the pilot manages to dissociate his mind from his body and can thus remain focused on the onboard instruments even when he is resting,\u201d Piccard\u2019s bio reads. In 1999, Piccard traveled more than 29,000 miles in a balloon from the Swiss Alpine village of Chateau-d\u2019Oex to Egypt, making it the first nonstop balloon flight around the world, according to the National Air and Space Museum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>NTSB officials are currently investigating the May 4 crash of the Solar Impulse 2.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>More News<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\u2014 After 50 years of fighting, Calif. housing project finally gets go-ahead<br \/>\u2014 Massive experimental aircraft crashes off US coastline<br \/>\u2014 Philippine Consulate concerned over raid on Disney cruise in Calif.<br \/>\u2014 The heavily congested Calif. highway now controlled by AI<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=90\">The Giants trade struggling catcher Patrick Bailey to the Guardians. Bo Naylor optioned to Columbus<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><em>Sign up for\u00a0daily SFGATE breaking news alerts here.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Solar Impulse 2, a long-range experimental aircraft, crashed in the Gulf of Mexico when it lost power during an unmanned test flight on May 4.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":95,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-96","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Massive experimental aircraft crashes off US coastline - San Francisco Moving Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sanfranciscomovingguide.com\/?p=96\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Massive experimental aircraft crashes off US coastline - 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