A French man has failed in his bid to cross the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard.
Franky Zapata, who has been nicknamed 'Le Rocketman', had been attempting the 35-kilometre crossing after setting off near Calais this morning.
The 40-year-old had been travelling towards St Margaret's Bay in Dover - a trip which was expected to take around 20 minutes, with the craft flying 15-20 metres above the water.
Franky Zapata, a 40-year-old inventor, takes to the air in Sangatte, Northern France, at the start of his attempt to cross the channel Thursday July 25, 2019. Zapata is anchored to his flyboard, a small flying platform he invented, taking off from Sangatte, in France's Pas de Calais region, and flying to the Dover area in southeast England. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)However, his attempt failed after 10 minutes when he fell into the water after missing a landing platform.
Mr Zapata had been attempting to land to refuel before the final stretch of his voyage.
He was not injured in the fall.
A member of the French man's crew explained: "It is a huge disappointment. He made his rendezvous with the refuelling boat but he must have missed the platform by just a few centimetres.
"We practiced this manoeuvre dozens of times in heavier seas, with platforms that moved more, without any problems.
"It wasn't the wind, it was the waves - the platform was two metres above the deck, every movement of the boat is exaggerated."
Mr Zapata's so-called 'flyboard' can travel at speeds of up to 140km/h, and is fuelled through a backpack filled with kerosene.
The invention gained international attention during Bastille Day celebrations in France earlier this month, with Mr Zapata's board praised by President Emmanuel Macron:
Fier de notre armée, moderne et innovante. pic.twitter.com/DQvIfPolQf
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 14, 2019
Additional reporting by IRN
