Frenchman successfully crosses English Channel by hoverboard

French inventor Franky Zapata on Sunday succeeded in crossing the English Channel on a jet-powered hoverboard he designed, having abandoned a previous bid after failing to land on a refuelling platform and falling into the sea.

The Frenchman was seen waving to onlookers before landing safely in Saint Margaret's Bay, very close to Dover on Britain's southern coast, according to French TV images.

Franky Zapata, who wowed crowds during France's Bastille Day celebrations on July 14 by soaring over a military parade in Paris on the device, said he had changed refuelling arrangements to give himself the best chance of a successful crossing.

A champion on jetski-powered waterboards, Zapata steers his Flyboard Air craft which flies at up to 140 km per hour by leaning forward or backward, and controls thrust with a throttle connected to his 1,500 horsepower board.