Inventor tries, and fails, to cross Channel on flyboard

French inventor Franky Zapata fails in his attempt to cross the English Channel on a jet-powered flyboard

French inventor Franky Zapata takes off on a flyboard to cross the English channel from Sangatte to Dover, in Sangatte, France on July 25, 2019.

A French aviation buff and inventor glided partway over the English Channel on a homemade "flyboard" on Thursday — then crashed in the sea.After careful preparations, Franky Zapata took off from the French coastal town of Sangatte fastened to the small flying platform he designed.But as he descended for a refuelling stop about halfway across, the platform he was meant to land on was moving too much due to waves.

Zapata, 40, wowed crowds in Paris on Bastille Day, whirling over European leaders on the flyboard. But crossing the windy, ship-filled Channel is a much tougher challenge. He scheduled Thursday's flight to coincide with the 110th anniversary of the first flight across the Channel, by French aviator Louis Bleriot on July 25, 1909 — who also left from Sangatte after multiple failed attempts. The beach where Zapata took off on Thursday bears Bleriot's name.

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