Frenchman Franky Zapata survived a crash involving a flying hoverboard. At an air show, the pilot and inventor of the Flyboard Air lost control of his device and crashed.
Franky Zapata fell 15 meters from his flyboard. (Source: Screenshot Twitter)
- French inventor of the Flyboard Air, Franky Zapata, crashed over the weekend.
- During an air show, he lost control of his invention and fell 15 meters into a lake.
- The Frenchman had to be taken to hospital and is in good condition.
Jetpacks and other flying devices are fascinating. However, it is all too easy to forget that piloting the new type of aircraft needs to be learned and mastered. Spectacular accidents and incidents keep happening, including last weekend in the French town of Biscarrosse.
As the BBC reports, the inventor of the Flyboard Air, Franky Zapata, took part in an air show. The Frenchman proved in 2019 that his invention works well in principle when he flew across the English Channel on a flyboard. But something went wrong during the air show last weekend, as can be seen in the following Twitter video.
The exact cause of the crash is still unknown. The flyboard has four mini turbines and reaches top speeds of up to 140 km/h. The video shows how Zapata turns around its own axis during the ascent – it is quite possible that a turbine failed.
in one tweet Zapata comments on his misfortune, saying that he is fine, that man is not infallible and not a bird, that gravity always wins in the end. Apparently, the former jet ski world champion hasn’t lost his sense of humor.
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