Reaching speeds up to 177 kilometers per hour
(110 mph), he traveled some 20 kilometers (12
miles), more than halfway to the English shore.
That’s farther than he had ever traveled on
his air-board.
But as he descended for a refueling stop on a
boat, the platform he was meant to land on was
moving too much from waves. He wasn’t able to
grab onto it, and he plunged into the sea.
Zapata winced as he described the “disaster.” He
said his helmet filled with water and he struggled
for breath. But he came away from the rescue by
French divers with just a scratch on his arm.
“It’s hard to swallow,” he acknowledged. But as a
former jet ski champion, Zapata said he knows
how to “learn from your mistakes.”
He plans to go back to his workshop as soon as
Friday to build a new board and prepare a new
trip, possibly within days.
Zapata wowed crowds in Paris on Bastille Day,
whirling over European leaders on his flying
hoverboard. But crossing the windy, ship-filled
Channel was a much bigger challenge.
He scheduled the 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. The
beach where Zapata took off bears Bleriot’s name.
Noting that Bleriot also had several failed flying
attempts, Zapata said, “Aviation is made by
people who suffer failures, and advance by
rising again.”