Google's solar plane crashed earlier this month in New Mexico
![](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/JkfaBa4_0SYEDtc1bOH2Ng--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY0MA--/https://o.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/GLOB/crop/3552x2368+0+0/resize/630x420!/format/jpg/quality/85/https://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/57e568b72e41b2c016853fcb9702ba56/202061860/w1-s2-googledrone-a-20140416-e1397531824547.jpg)
According to Bloomberg Business, the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating an incident wherein Google's solar-powered Solara 50 plane reportedly crashed shortly after takeoff. The event occurred on May 1st at a private airfield outside of Albuquerque and no injuries were reported. Recent Google acquisition Titan Aerospace built the 50-meter-wide (164 ft) drone as part of an ambitious Google plan to deliver global internet connectivity via stratospheric drones.
"Although our prototype plane went down during a recent test, we remain optimistic about the potential of solar-powered planes to help deliver connectivity," Courtney Hohne, a Google spokeswoman, told Bloomberg. "Part of building a new technology is overcoming hurdles along the way." This week, the Mountain View-based company also showed off the latest from its balloon-based system dubbed Project Loon.