A solar-powered airplane finished crossing the United States today, landing in New York City after flying over the Statue of Liberty during its historic attempt to circle the globe.

The Solar Impulse 2 arrived at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport at about 4am local time after it took off about five hours earlier from Lehigh Valley International Airport in Pennsylvania.

The Swiss team flying the aircraft in a campaign to build support for clean energy technologies hopes eventually to complete its circumnavigation in Abu Dhabi, where the journey began in March 2015.

The propeller-driven Solar Impulse flies without a drop of fuel and its four engines are powered solely by energy collected from more than 17,000 solar cells built into its wings.

Surplus power is stored in four batteries during the day, to keep the plane aloft on extreme long-distance flights.

The carbon-fibre plane, with a wingspan exceeding that of a Boeing 747 and the weight of a family car, is unlikely to set speed or altitude records.

It can climb to 8,500m, and cruise at 55 to 100 kph.

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