Pilot completes jetpack challenge

Pilot completes jetpack challenge

A Swiss man has become the first person to fly solo across the English Channel using a single jet-propelled wing.

Yves Rossy landed safely after the 22-mile (35.4 km) flight from Calais to Dover, which had been twice postponed this week because of bad weather.

The former military pilot took less than 10 minutes to complete the crossing and parachute to the ground.

The 49-year-old flew on a plane to more than 8,200ft (2,500m), ignited jets on a wing on his back, and jumped out.

Yves Rossy aimed to reach speeds of 125mph

Mr Rossy had hoped to reach speeds of 125mph.

It felt “great, really great”, said Mr Rossy: “I only have one word, thank you, to all the people who did it with me.”

He said weather conditions on Friday had been perfect and his success signalled “big potential” for people to fly “a little bit like a bird” in the future.

Known as “Fusionman,” he was aiming to follow the route taken by French airman Louis Blériot 99 years ago when he became the first person to fly across the English Channel in a plane.

In Dover, Mr Rossy flew past South Foreland lighthouse – which the building’s manager Simon Ovenden said Blériot used as a target during his pioneering flight – and looped onlookers before landing in a field.

“It’s a remarkable achievement, we saw the climax of his attempt as he came down to earth with his parachute. It’s been an exciting afternoon,” said Geoff Clark, a 54-year-old spectator from Chatham, in Kent.
His quote consistently is: I’m not worried about risk, I manage risk
Kathryn Liptrott
National Geographic Channel

Mark Dale, the senior technical officer for the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, described Rossy’s flight as a “fabulous stunt”.

In an interview earlier this week, Mr Rossy said: “If I calculate everything right, I will land in Dover. But if I get it wrong, I take a bath.”

The flight was broadcast live for the National Geographic Channel. Its producer, Kathryn Liptrott, told the  Mr Rossy was fearless.

“When we’ve talked to him and asked him are you worried about risk his quote consistently is: I’m not worried about risk, I manage risk.

“He flew Mirage fighters for the Swiss army, he now flies an Airbus. And in his sort of heart he’s a pilot and a parachutist and what they do is manage risk.”

The longest flight he had previously taken lasted 10 minutes.

The wing had no rudder or tail fin, so Mr Rossy had to steer it using his head and back.

As well as a helmet and parachute, he wore a special suit to protect him from the four kerosene-burning turbines mounted just centimetres from him on the wing.

Disruption continuing over tunnel

Misery is set to continue for thousands of Eurostar passengers with services unlikely to resume on Friday.

The Channel Tunnel is closed after a fire broke out on a freight train about seven miles from Calais. Fire fighters are still tackling the blaze.

Thirty-two people on board were led to safety. Fourteen had suffered minor injuries, including smoke inhalation.

The operator said in a statement it “did not expect” to operate any services on Friday.

The fire broke out on a UK-bound lorry aboard the shuttle train at about 1400 GMT on Thursday, around 11km (7 miles) from the French entrance, the operator Eurotunnel said.

The French Interior Ministry said the lorry, which is understood to have overturned on the train, was carrying the chemical phenol, a toxic product used by the pharmaceutical industry.

At 11.40pm on Thursday fire crews were still working to put out the fire, but the situation was said to be under control.

Chief Fire Officer Bill Feeley of Kent Fire and Rescue Service said about 100 of his firefighters were tackling the blaze.

“The fire itself, because it’s in a tunnel, it’s in a confined space, produces a lot of smoke and a lot of heat for our firefighters to contend with.

“We’re working from one end as the French fire service works from the other, and I know they’ve been in audible contact, so that’s how close they are.”

A train was sent to collect the people from the service tunnel and take them back to France.

The Foreign Office said seven of those evacuated from the tunnel were British.

The French state train company SNCF said its services would not resume until Friday.

The tunnel carries Eurostar express trains between London, Paris and Brussels, as well as freight and passenger shuttles between Folkestone and Calais.

Travel chaos

Traffic built up at the British end of the tunnel, with queues of lorries and cars tailing from the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone.

Kent police have closed junctions eight to nine of the coastbound section of the M20 and sections of the motorway have been used to queue lorries as part of Operation Stack.

The Highways Agency has told motorists to expect delays of up to an hour on the M20.

Motorists at the Channel Tunnel entrance were being given vouchers by staff to board ferries at Dover.

Some of the stranded passengers said Eurostar has agreed to reimburse them for their stays overnight in London.

A spokesman said anyone who had been unable to use the tickets because of the fire would be given as much help as possible with continuing their journey.

Eurolines, which is part of National Express, said it had capacity to take Eurostar passengers to Paris and Brussels by coach, via cross-Channel ferry services.

The Channel Tunnel has suffered several incidents since it opened to traffic in 1994 although only one – a fire in 1996 – caused serious injuries.

In August 2006, 34 people had to be led to safety after a fire broke out on a lorry being carried on a freight train.

The fire caused £200m worth of damage burned for over five hours, wrecking the concrete lining and facilities over about half a mile of tunnel.

Security exercises are staged in the Channel Tunnel by police, fire and ambulance services from both England and France to ensure preparedness for such incidents.

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