Jetpack daredevil Frank Zapata injured as he plunges 50ft during flying stunt

Mr Zapata said the incident reminded him that “we are not birds”.

Jetpack daredevil Frank Zapata injured as he plunges 50ft into lake during stunt (PA)

A daredevil ‘jetpack’ flier has been injured after spinning out of control and crashed 50ft into a lake in France.

Franky Zapata, a French inventor and army reservist, was rushed to the hospital by emergency services after he pludged into water with his ‘flyboard’ in Biscarrosse, France.

A video shows the former JetSki champion ascending into the sky before he spirals downwards and crashes into the lake.

Mr Zapata took to Twitter to assure his fans he is “doing well” and said the incident reminded him that “we are not birds”.

According to French newspaper Sud Ouest, the inventor was rescued by a boat and a jet ski.

Mr Zapata was the first person to ever fly across the English Channel in 2019.

His journey began in Sangatte beach in Calais at 7.16am and travelled 22 miles to Dover.

He landed in Kent just 23 minutes later.

Previously, Mr Zapata flew above crowds on a Bastille Day military parade in France.

He carried a rifle as he flew in a demonstration of the potential military applications of his Flyboard invention.

European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, applauded the Flyboard as it passed overhead.

French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said the technology could be used to create flying soldiers that could take to the battlefields in the future.