Triumphant landing of Solar Impulse in Ouarzazate

The prototype landed successfully at 00:25am (UTC+1), 22 June. This was Solar Impulse’s most difficult destination up to this point, due to the hot and arid desert climate full of turbulence and high wind.

The Solar Impulse airplane took-off yesterday morning at 07:05 (UTC+1) from Rabat-Salé. After flying in the direction of Casablanca, the HB-SIA made its way inland towards Marrakesh, avoiding the Atlas Mountains, and flying in the direction of the desert. After a flight lasting a total of 17h20min and 683 km, Borschberg safely landed the solar aircraft in Ouarzazate International Airport, Kingdom of Morocco.

"It was a beautiful flight with some amazing contrasts between the coast and interior landscapes, but the highlight was the view of the Atlas Mountains was breathtaking," said Borschberg to the cheering of the Solar Impulse team, the Governor of Ouarzazate, Mayor of Marrakesh and local journalists. "It still remains one of the most difficult flights we've done and it wasn't easy to find the adequate altitude to avoid turbulence, to charge the batteries and to avoid being too cold. But Ouarzazate was our final destination and we made it! It is a great satisfaction to finally be here for our project and our host," he said.

This was the HB-SIA’s second attempt to complete the challenge of flying in an arid and hot climate frequently filled with thunderstorms, strong winds and thermal currents, which can be fatal for the solar aircraft.

“Striving for the impossible is the DNA of our team," said Piccard, initiator and chairman of Solar Impulse.

“We are glad André, Bertrand and the overall team could make this dream come true. We believed in their capacity to do so and are very proud to warmly welcome them in Ouarzazate where every single person was awaiting us," said Masen’s president Mustapha Bakkoury.