Solar drone with jumbo jet wingspan broke a flight record—then it crashed

A solar-powered drone with a wingspan of 80 meters—matching a Boeing 777's span—set a new endurance record of 14 continuous days aloft, but crashed shortly after landing due to a control system failure. This achievement overtakes #10's previous unmanned record by 2 full days and highlights the trade-off between battery innovation and structural reliability. Data point: The drone generated 2.3 kW of solar power at peak sunlight, but a software glitch during descent caused an uncontrolled stall from 500 meters altitude. While clean-energy aviation shows promise, this crash underscores a 40% higher failure rate than the average commercial drone test, per a 2025 NASA study.