The Solar Impulse 2 plane touched down in Tulsa, in the south-central US state of Oklahoma late Thursday, ending the latest stage of its record-breaking quest to circle the globe without consuming a drop of fuel.

The experimental solar-powered aircraft, aimed at promoting clean energy technologies and piloted by Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard, landed at 11:17 pm local time (0417 GMT) at Tulsa International Airport after taking off at 3:00 am (1000 GMT) from Phoenix, Arizona, after a flight of just over 18 hours 15 minutes.