The time two men shared a barrel over Niagara Falls in 1989 and lived
Published October 25, 2022 at 4:40 pm
There are handful of stories of men – and in the very first case, a woman – who have crammed themselves into a padded barrel and successfully gone over Niagara Falls.
There are slightly more stories about the unsuccessful attempts. Something about Niagara Falls makes otherwise sane people think they’re indestructible daredevils.
However, there’s only been one time that two people shared a barrel over the falls and survived.
In September 1989, Peter DeBernardi and Jeffrey Petkovich were that pair and became the the eleventh and twelfth persons to successfully take the treacherous plunge.
It seems it was something DeBernardi, then 42, dreamed of doing for quite some time. He had a friend who was willing so they started making plans.
DeBernardi had built a $1,500 barrel, constructed of 3/16 of an inch thick steel plate measuring 3.7 meters (12 feets) long and 137 cm (four and a half feet) in diameter. The barrel weighed 1,500 pounds and had a keel for direction.
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In addition, the barrel had a two-way radio system, a 90-minute oxygen supply with a ballast control and a double hatch assembly. It had double Plexiglas widows so the pair could see outside.
Unfortunately, his friend thought twice about, decided the life of a daredevil was not for him and backed out.
Then – in a sentence that never ends well – DeBernardi met a guy in a bar. That would be Jeff Petkovich, a 24 year old student of the University of Ottawa.
DeBernardi explain the purpose of the barrel ride – to create anti-drug-use awareness. In fact, the yellow barrel had the words “Don’t Put Yourself on the Edge – Drugs Kill” painted on the side.
And so on September 28, 1989 at 5:30 pm, DeBernardi and Petkovich both resting head-to-head inside the barrel began their journey. The barrel was launched 200 feet from the brink of the Horseshoe Falls and only 25 seconds later, the barrel went over the brink of the Falls.
When recovered near the Maid of the Mist dock, both DeBernardi and Petkovich were uninjured.
After successfully getting a taste for the forbidden fruit, DeBernardi tried to go solo on August 14, 1990 but was foiled by New York State Parks Police when an officer stopped a truck carrying DeBernardi’s ten foot diameter yellow Styrofoam ball contraption that was destined to go over the American Falls.
On the left, the two-man barrel. On the right, a rare photo of Peter DeBernardi and Jeffrey Petkovich.