A French inventor has failed in an attempt to fly a hoverboard across the English Channel.
The jet-powered Flyboard Air took off near Calais at 9am local time this morning and hoped to make the 41-kilometre crossing to St Margaret’s Bay on the British coast in 20 minutes.
Franky Zapata, the inventor, was uninjured when he fell into the water after a failed landing on a boat to refuel. The 40-year-old had said he thought he only had a 30 per cent chance of crossing successfully.
Mr Zapata had aimed to keep an average speed of 140 kilometres per hour while travelling 15-20 metres above the water on machine about the size of a skateboard.
Crowds gathered at the French coast to watch his departure, followed closely by a helicopter, but they learned a few minutes later that his mission had failed.
"It is a huge disappointment," a member of his team told France's BFM TV shortly after the flight. "He must have missed the platform by just a few centimetres.
"We practised this manoeuvre dozens of times in heavier seas," he added.
Mr Zapata, a former jet-ski champion, impressed crowds in Paris when he showcased his new invention at a military parade to mark France’s national day on July 14.
