The American tourist who plunged to his death in a paramotor has been named as a former U.S. Marine from Oklahoma.

Professional pilot Dennis Michael Flynn, 62 was using the machine with friends in Chonburi, eastern Thailand, Wednesday morning (April 1).

But shortly after take-off, the paramotor engine suffered a ''mechanical fault'' and lost power in mid-air.

Strong winds then reportedly blew him off course.

Dennis was unable to control the machine and hurtled to the ground.

Pictures show the wreckage and Dennis sprawled on the ground with cuts across his legs and chest.

He was still alive but in pain when the paramedics arrived shortly after 8 am.

He was taken to the Wat Yansangwararam Hospital but he died later from severe internal injuries suffered in the crash.

Police officers arrived at the scene and later questioned his friends who he had been flying with.

They said that Dennis had taken to the skies shortly before them as he wanted extra time to practice at the Huay Too reservoir in the Sattahip district.

One of his flying pals said: "We recently bought the paramotor and came here to practice.

"He took off before me and shortly after I saw that he crashed. He could not handle the paramotor after the engine hitched."

Friends paid tribute online to the American, who had family in the US and was a motorcycle enthusiast, too.

One said: ''Dennis died while enjoying his life here in Thailand. He is a U.S Marine. He also had been a bush pilot in Alaska. It is very sad he died. Dennis was 62 this year. This is a very sad ending to his life.''

Police Major Colonel Thanach Sripraman said the officers have already contacted the US Embassy to inform the family of the deceased.

He said: "Initially, we already contacted the embassy to take care of his funeral but we will need to investigate the paramotor as he might not have had the flying licenses. We can also check where it was bought and what the issues were with the machine.''