Daredevil 'Mad' Mike Hughes has died after launching himself into the air on a homemade rocket that later crash landed, possibly due to a parachute malfunction.

Hughes, 64, had been a daredevil and conspiracy theorist who believed the earth was flat and hoped to launch himself into space to prove it.

Footage of the incident shows Hughes propelling himself into the air as a parachute suddenly comes off the steam-powered rocket on Saturday, near Barstow, California, before it crashed.

The rocket then plummets back down to Earth and crashes with Hughes still inside.

A previous, successful launch by Hughes in a similar rocket showed a parachute deployment, much-like the technology used by Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to slow and cushion the capsule's landing on hard ground.

WARNING: DISTRESSING FOOTAGE

Footage of the incident shows Hughes propelling himself into the air near Barstow, California, on Saturday

Hughes was reportedly attempting to get as close to space from Earth as possible - about 62 miles above Earth's surface

Hughes crash landed shortly after take-off. The incident was reportedly being filmed for a new TV show on the Discovery Channel

Daredevil 'Mad' Mike Hughes pictured next to a rocket in November 2017 before his latest attempt to fly as close as possible to space ended in the vehicle's crash and his death

Parachutes appeared to work that way on Hughe's March 24, 2018 launch. It was not clear if that was his intention during Saturday's ill-fated flight.

Justin Chapman, a freelance journalist, who witnessed the crash with his wife said Hughes' rocket appeared to rub against the launch apparatus, which might have torn the parachutes attached to it.

According to a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department statement, deputies were called to the scene.

'A man was pronounced deceased after the rocket crashed in the open desert during a rocket launch event,' the statement said. The sheriff's department did not identify the person who died.

Waldo Stakes, a colleague of Hughes' who was at the rocket launch, confirmed Hughes had gone off on the doomed flight.

'It was unsuccessful, and he passed away,' Stakes told the Associated Press. He declined to comment further.

The incident was believed to have been filmed for a new TV show, Homemade Astronauts, which is set to launch on the Discovery Chanel in 2020, according to TMZ.

Hughes, from California, was at the site on Saturday with Stakes attempting to reach 5,000 feet in the air while on the rocket.

Both men were working on getting as close to space above the earth's surface, about 62 miles without the use of advanced tech, according to Space.com.

A picture of the rocket was posted on his website on Wednesday, three days before the doomed launch

Hughes' website posted a video for a 'Rocketman' documentary about his bid to prove the earth is flat

Hughes had to be taken away in a stretcher after he crash landed in another rocket launch attempt in March 2018

Hughes' plan had been to prove the earth was flat by triggering a baloon to carry him to the Karman line, which is the 62-mile barrier that separates the atmosphere from space.

Hughes and Stakes were one of three teams working to get as close to line as they could. Hughes' former representative Darren Shuster described Hughes as 'one-of-a-kind'.

'When God made Mike he broke the mold. The man was the real deal and lived to push the edge. He wouldn't have gone out any other way. RIP,' he said.

A picture of the rocket was posted on his website on Wednesday, three days before the doomed launch.

He also posted a video for a 'Rocketman' documentary about his bid to prove the earth is flat.

Hughes' former representative Darren Shuster described him as 'one-of-a-kind'. 'When God made Mike he broke the mold,' he said.

In an accident in March 2018 he faced a near-fatal catastrophe when he attempted to propel himself into the air in a rocket made using mostly spare parts.

The engineer launched himself 1,875 feet into the sky but his descent but it began to plunge at a speed of 350 mph.

He was forced to deploy his parachute to slow down at 1,875 feet but crash landed in the Mojave Desert, just east of Los Angeles

Hughes said afterward, 'Am I glad I did it? Yeah, I guess. I'll feel it in the morning. I won't be able to get out of bed. At least I can go home and have dinner and see my cats tonight.'

In 2002 he set a Guinness World Record with a 103-foot jump in a Lincoln Town Car stretch limo.

He is said to have built his first manned rocket on January 30 in 2014, when he flew 1,374 feet.