Wallenda hangs by teeth from helicopter over Niagara Falls
Posted June 15, 2017 7:00 am
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) - Erendira Wallenda, the aerialist wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda, successfully hung by her teeth from a helicopter over Niagara Falls on Thursday, pulling off the stunt five years to the day her husband walked a tight rope over the falls.
The 36-year-old mother of three was tethered to a hoop suspended from a helicopter 300 feet (91 meters) above the water. After performing a few acrobatic maneuvers, she briefly hung twice by her teeth with the use of a mouth guard in between hanging upside-down by her toes for a few seconds.
The Wallendas said the stunt broke a height record Nik Wallenda set in 2011 when he hung by his teeth 250 feet (76 meters) above Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri.
Erendira Wallenda said she was caught off guard by the windy conditions above the cataracts, something her husband had to deal with during his 2012 stunt. But she said in the post-stunt news conference that the experience was "beautiful and amazing."
The aerialist spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls after the helicopter took off from the parking lot roof of the nearby Seneca Niagara casino.
Only a few dozen people viewed the stunt from the ground on the American side of the falls, compared to the tens of thousands who gathered on the U.S. and Canadian sides for Nik Wallenda's televised high-wire walk over Niagara Falls.
Nik Wallenda watches from above as his wife, Erendira Wallenda, hangs by her teeth while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Thursday, June 15, 2017. The 36-year-old mother of three spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls.(AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
The Associated Press
Nik Wallenda watches from above as his wife, Erendira Wallenda, hangs by her teeth while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Thursday, June 15, 2017. Erendira Wallenda was tethered to a hoop suspended 300 feet (91 meters) above the water. After performing a few acrobatic maneuvers, she briefly hung twice by her teeth with the use of a tethered mouth guard in between hanging upside-down by her toes for a few seconds. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
The Associated Press
Erendira Wallenda performs a series of acrobatic maneuvers, including hanging by her teeth, while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Thursday, June 15, 2017. The aerialist wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
The Associated Press
Erendira Wallenda performs a series of acrobatic maneuvers, including hanging by her teeth, while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Thursday, June 15, 2017. The aerialist wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
The Associated Press
Erendira Wallenda performs a series of acrobatic maneuvers, including hanging by her teeth, while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Thursday, June 15, 2017. The aerialist wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
The Associated Press
Erendira Wallenda performs a series of acrobatic maneuvers, including hanging by her teeth, while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Thursday, June 15, 2017. The 36-year-old mother of three spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls. Thursday's performance came on the fifth anniversary of her husband, Nik Wallenda's televised high-wire walk over Niagara Falls. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
The Associated Press
Erendira Wallenda performs a series of acrobatic maneuvers, including hanging by her teeth, while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Thursday, June 15, 2017. The aerialist wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
The Associated Press
Erendira Wallenda waves to the crowd while performing a series of acrobatic maneuvers, including hanging by her teeth, while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Thursday, June 15, 2017. The aerialist wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
The Associated Press
Spectators watch as Erendira Wallenda performs a series of acrobatic maneuvers, including hanging by her teeth, while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Thursday, June 15, 2017. The aerialist wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
The Associated Press
Spectators watch as Erendira Wallenda performs a series of acrobatic maneuvers, including hanging by her teeth, while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Thursday, June 15, 2017. The aerialist wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
The Associated Press
Spectators watch as Erendira Wallenda performs a series of acrobatic maneuvers, including hanging by her teeth, while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Thursday, June 15, 2017. The aerialist wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
The Associated Press
Spectators watch as Erendira Wallenda performs a series of acrobatic maneuvers, including hanging by her teeth, while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, N.Y., Thursday, June 15, 2017. The aerialist wife of daredevil Nik Wallenda spent about eight minutes of the 10-minute stunt hovering over the falls. (AP Photo/Bill Wippert)
The Associated Press
Trapeze-artist Erendira Wallenda smiles as she and her daredevil husband Nik Wallenda describe Erendira's plans to perform an acrobatic routine while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls, at a news conference Wed., June 14, 2017 at the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The stunt is planned for Thursday, June 15, the fifth anniversary of Nik Wallenda's televised 1,800-foot tightrope walk from the New York side of Niagara Falls into Canada. (AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson)
The Associated Press
Trapeze-artist Erendira Wallenda and her husband Nik Wallenda describe Erendira's plans to perform an acrobatic routine while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls, at a news conference Wed., June 14, 2017 at the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The stunt is planned for Thursday, June 15, the fifth anniversary of Nik Wallenda's televised 1,800-foot tightrope walk from the New York side of Niagara Falls into Canada. (AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson)
The Associated Press
Trapeze-artist Erendira Wallenda and her husband Nik Wallenda attend a a news conference where they described Erendira's plans to perform an acrobatic routine while suspended from a helicopter above Niagara Falls, Wed., June 14, 2017 at the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls, N.Y. The stunt is planned for Thursday, June 15, the fifth anniversary of Nik Wallenda's televised 1,800-foot tightrope walk from the New York side of Niagara Falls into Canada. (AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson)
The Associated Press
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