Peter DeBernardi and Jeffrey Petkovich Barrel Riding Daredevils
Last updated on January 31, 2024 By toniagara
PETER DEBERNARDI AND JEFFREY PETKOVICH
1989
(Survived)
On September 28, 1989, 42-year-old Peter DeBernardi and 24-year-old Jeffrey Petkovich (both Canadians) became the first duo to go over the Falls in the same barrel.
DeBernardi built a steel-plated barrel that was 12 feet long and 4-1/2 feet in diameter. It had a keel for direction, a 2-way radio system, 90 minutes of oxygen supply, ballast control, and double Plexiglas windows to see outside.
The barrel was launched 200 feet from the brink of the Horseshoe Falls and only 25 seconds later went over the brink of the Falls and fell into the water below. When recovered, both were uninjured.
On August 14, 1990, a second attempt to go over the Niagara Falls, New York, was foiled when a patrolling officer stopped the truck carrying DeBernardi’s 10-foot diameter yellow Styrofoam barrel. He was deported.
His ambition to be the first person to go over the American Falls remains unfulfilled.