Most people would probably reconsider after being stopped by police in the river above Niagara Falls.
David Munday wasn’t most people.
Two months before successfully going over Horseshoe Falls, Munday attempted the stunt on July 28, 1985, but Niagara Parks Police intercepted him in a hydro power pool above the Falls before he could reach the brink.
He was fined $503 and warned that another attempt could lead to 30 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
For Munday, the experience was a shock.
“I’d never been arrested in my life,” he said afterward. “This is a whole new ballgame.”
The warning didn’t stop him.
The 48-year-old mechanic from near Hamilton, Ontario, had spent thousands building his own sophisticated barrel.
Made of steel and lined with aluminum and foam, the white-and-red barrel featured a painted maple leaf on the outside. Inside were oxygen tanks, radio equipment, and even a video camera.
It reportedly cost him around $16,000.
On the morning of October 5, 1985, Munday climbed inside and headed toward the Falls.
This time, he made it over.
After surviving the plunge, Munday emerged from the barrel wearing blue mechanic’s coveralls, climbing carefully across the slippery rocks below the Falls while his ground crew helped pull him to safety.
Members of the local media were already waiting...as well as the Niagara Parks Police, who fined him $15,000, but unlike earlier warnings, he avoided jail.
For many people, one successful trip over Niagara Falls would be enough.
Not for David Munday.
Five years later, on July 15, 1990, he attempted another plunge, this time using a much simpler steel barrel.
But the river had other plans.
Before reaching the edge, the barrel became stuck in shallow water above the brink of the Falls. Eventually, it had to be removed using a crane and cable.
Munday was once again charged and fined for performing an illegal stunt on Niagara Parks Commission property.
Still, he wasn’t finished.
On September 26, 1993, David Munday returned once again.
This time, he used a smaller red-and-white steel sphere built from a converted diving bell.
After going over the Canadian Horseshoe Falls, the capsule was spotted in the river and towed to shore by the Maid of the Mist.
Forty-five minutes later, Munday emerged bruised, scraped, and wearing a protective helmet, but alive.
He refused medical treatment and described the experience simply as:
“Wild.”
With that stunt, David Munday became the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls twice.
And despite everything, he later joked:
“I’ll never do the Canadian Horseshoe Falls again. Maybe the American Falls… if I had the money.”
Afterward, he returned to his regular job as a mechanic near Hamilton, Ontario.
The story of David Munday feels different from many of Niagara’s other daredevils.
Not because he attempted it once.
But because he kept coming back.
Stopped by police.
Fined repeatedly.
Even stranded above the brink.
And yet somehow, he still became the first person to survive the plunge twice.
Standing beside Niagara Falls today, it’s difficult to imagine willingly facing that kind of power even once, let alone returning again and again.
There’s a reason Niagara Falls has drawn daredevils, performers, and thrill-seekers for generations.
The power of the river is something you feel the moment you stand beside it.
On our Niagara Falls tours from Toronto, you’ll experience the views, the history, and the real stories that turned this natural wonder into one of the most legendary places in North America.
Best Niagara Falls tour in Canada for 20 years.
