Jetman's attempt to reach Spain from Morocco ends in malfunction

In brief: Yves Rossy, the 'Jetman' and developer of the Jet-powered Wing, was forced to ditch in his recent attempt to fly from Africa to Europe.

Vehicle in the news

Make/Model: Jet-powered wing
Manufacturer: Yves Rossy

The word

50 year old former Swiss fighter pilot Yves Rossy's attempt to fly on his Jet-powered Wing from Morocco to Spain ended in a forced ditch.

Rossy took off from Tangiers but the flight, which was meant to last for 15 minutes, lasted just 5 before an engine malfunction caused Rossy to disappear from the view of cameras covering his otherwise historic flight.

Fortunately, Rossy deployed his parachute and drifted safely into the Mediterranean, where a helicopter scooped him out of the water. The Spanish coast guard retrieved his Jetwing.

And so ….

Rossy's been through bigger, more disappointing setbacks in his quest to perfect the jetwing; consider this is just another minor setback.

Source: npr
all photos © Stéphanie Thomet

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