30 Daredevil Stunts Gone HORRIBLY Wrong

30 Daredevil Stunts Gone HORRIBLY Wrong

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re exploring the infamous times in history when a daredevil stunt didn’t go to plan and resulted in near-misses, terrible injuries, and catastrophes.

Felix Baumgartner's Last Italian Paragliding

In 2012, Austria’s daredevil extraordinaire Baumgartner made history by jumping from the edge of space, smashing records along the way and putting his name in the history books. However, in 2025, we sadly lost Baumgartner. While in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Italy, he took to the skies with a powered paragliding flight. Yet during the trip, Baumgartner lost control of the equipment and crashed near a swimming pool. While one other person was injured by debris, Baumgartner unfortunately lost his life. An investigation into the cause concluded that since the equipment was in working order, it was likely human error that caused the tragedy.

Harry Houdini's Buried Alive Stunt

Long before escape artistry became mainstream spectacle, Harry Houdini was already rewriting the rulebook on human endurance. In 1915, near Santa Ana, California, he attempted one of his most terrifying feats — being buried alive beneath six feet of earth, without a wooden box. Overwhelmed by panic and the crushing weight of soil pressing down on him, Houdini began frantically clawing his way upward in desperation. Eventually, his hand appeared above the earth. But the magician quickly passed out as his assistants pulled him from the ground. Houdini later confessed it was one of the closest brushes with death he'd ever experienced — sobering words from a man who regularly escaped straitjackets submerged in freezing rivers.

Samuel Koch Is Paralyzed

Performing a stunt on live television is always a risk, not only for your reputation, but also for the sanity of the potential children watching at home. Samuel Koch was performing a stunt wherein he would jump over moving cars with a pair of spring-loaded boots on the German television show “Wetten, dass...?” He miscalculated a jump, and he tumbled over the top of the car, landing on his head and fracturing two vertebrae. He is now paralyzed from the neck down and has since left the stunt business to become a stage actor.

Jackie Chan's Armour of God Fall

Jackie Chan has broken nearly every bone imaginable during his decades-long career. Still, none of his injuries compares to what happened on the set of 1986’s “Armour of God.” Filming in Yugoslavia, in modern-day Croatia, Chan attempted what should have been a relatively straightforward stunt — leaping from a castle wall and grabbing onto a tree branch below. However, the branch snapped. Chan plummeted to the ground, fracturing his skull on the rocks below. A bone fragment was pushed inside his head, and emergency surgery was the only thing that stood between him and death. Thankfully, Chan survived. Yet the injury left a permanent hole in his skull and a plastic plug that remains there to this day.

Jeb Corliss's Wingsuit Crash

Wingsuit flying looks like something ripped straight from a superhero film — and Jeb Corliss made it look effortless for years. Then came Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2012, during what was intended to be a breathtaking proximity flight, Corliss misjudged his trajectory and struck the rocky mountainside at staggering speed. The impact badly damaged his legs, causing all sorts of tears and fractures to his lower half in ways that required multiple surgeries and months of agonizing rehabilitation. Footage of the crash spread rapidly across the internet. What's remarkable is that Corliss not only survived but eventually returned to wingsuit flying — a testament to either extraordinary courage or extraordinary stubbornness, depending on who you ask.

Owen Hart's Final Entrance

Few moments in sports entertainment history carry the weight of what happened at Kansas City's Kemper Arena for 1999’s WWE pay-per-view “Over the Edge.” Owen Hart, a beloved and technically incredible wrestler, was scheduled to descend dramatically from the arena's rafters as his comedic superhero alter ego, the Blue Blazer. However, a quick-release mechanism on his harness triggered prematurely, sending Hart plummeting nearly 80 feet into the wrestling ring below. Sadly, Hart didn’t survive the impact. The audience, both in the arena and watching on their TVs at home, was stunned when commentator Jim Ross confirmed Hart’s passing on-air. Controversially, WWE continued the show, which split fans and experts about whether that was the right thing to do.

Evel Knievel's Wembley Stadium Bus Jump Crash

Evel Knievel was no stranger to catastrophe, but his 1975 Wembley Stadium performance in London, England, stands as one of the most publicly humiliating crashes of his career. Before a live-TV crew and a crowd of nearly 90,000 spectators, Knievel attempted to jump thirteen buses on his motorcycle. He cleared the vehicles — just – but the landing was brutal. His motorcycle pitched forward violently upon touchdown, sending Knievel cartwheeling across the track in a terrifying sequence that fractured his pelvis, a vertebra, and his hand. Remarkably, he staggered to the microphone and dramatically announced his retirement — a declaration he almost immediately reversed – and, with some help, walked away from the stage, despite all those injuries!

The Shoreham Airshow Crash

Airshows are meant to inspire awe, but in 2015, the Shoreham Airshow in West Sussex, England, turned into a scene of absolute horror. Pilot Andy Hill was performing a loop trick in a vintage Hawker Hunter jet when he failed to pull out of his dive with sufficient altitude, sending the aircraft screaming into the A27 dual carriageway below. The resulting fireball killed eleven people on the ground and injured sixteen. It remains one of the deadliest airshow disasters in British history. Investigations later found Hill, who survived, had been performing the maneuver at an altitude far too low for safe recovery. The tragedy prompted sweeping reviews of airshow safety regulations across the United Kingdom.

Karl Wallenda's Last Walk

The name Wallenda is synonymous with high-wire walking, and Karl Wallenda was the patriarch who made it legendary. In1978, at 73 years old, Karl attempted a wire walk strung between two hotel towers in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Strong winds battered the wire relentlessly as he inched his way across. Midway through, a gust caught him off balance. Karl clung briefly to the wire before unfortunately falling 120 feet to his demise on the street below. He had spent over sixty years defying gravity, surviving falls, and burying family members lost to the same wire. In 2011, Karl’s granddaughter Delilah and his great-grandson Nik undertook the same stunt in his memory. Thankfully, this time it went smoothly.

The Flying Wallendas' Seven-Person Pyramid Collapse

Speaking of the Wallendas, they, sadly, have a vast history of tragedy. In 1962, the Flying Wallendas were performing their signature seven-person pyramid act at Detroit's State Fair Coliseum when the formation suddenly collapsed mid-performance. Two performers, Dieter Schepp and Richard Faughnan, didn’t survive, while Mario Wallenda was left paralyzed for life. The sheer scale of the collapse — an entire human pyramid disintegrating in seconds — was witnessed by a horrified live audience and left the circus world shaken to its foundations. What drove the collapse remains debated, but what's undeniable is the human cost. The Wallenda family grieved, regrouped, and — perhaps most astonishingly — kept performing. That resilience, for better or worse, is their enduring legacy.

Dean Potter’s Wingsuit Crash

In May 2015, Dean Potter was reported missing along with Graham Hunt in California’s Yosemite National Park. Potter was considered one of the best and most daring performers in the climbing and BASE jumping realm. He had even been working on improving wingsuits. Potter and Hunt had jumped from Taft Point in the park with their wingsuits, a trip they had done several times before. Unfortunately, the morning after their risky stunt, the two friends’ remains were found. Potter and Hunt had lost control as they flew in the air towards a notch of rocks they needed to clear. Both daredevils crashed before they could deploy their parachutes.

Franz Reichelt’s Parachute Test

After moving from the then-Austro-Hungarian Empire to become a successful tailor in Paris, France, Franz Reichelt was inspired by the increasing popularity of aircraft. So, he started working on a parachute suit that a pilot could wear. After some failed experiments with dummies, Reichelt decided it needed more height to work properly. As such, he chose the iconic Eiffel Tower. But his faith in his invention had the Flying Tailor strap on his parachute suit for this trial. In February 1912, Reichelt jumped from the first deck at 187 feet up as a group of journalists watched. Sadly, the parachute didn’t deploy properly. It wrapped around the inventor as Reichelt fell to his demise.

Harry O’Connor’s Film Stunt

Having been a US Navy SEAL, Harry O’Connor changed direction in his career and began working as a stunt coordinator for films. After being in projects like 2000’s “The Perfect Storm” and “Charlie’s Angels,” he took a job working on 2002’s “XXX” as a double for Vin Diesel. But it ended tragically when he was filming in Prague, Czech Republic in April 2002. Having already nailed the first take, O’Connor was doing the parasailing stunt near Palacký Bridge again. However, something went wrong. O’Connor collided with a pillar, perishing on impact. The first take done by the professional was used in the final cut. “XXX” was subsequently dedicated to O’Connor’s memory.

Jonathan Goodwin’s Car Crush

Thanks to his impressive feats on “Britain's Got Talent” in 2019 and “America’s Got Talent” in 2020, Jonathan Goodwin was carving out a name for himself as one of the best escapologists and stunt performers in the world. But then, in October 2021, that all fell apart as he rehearsed a stunt for “America’s Got Talent: Extreme.” Goodwin was encased in a straitjacket while suspended thirty feet in the air between two vehicles. Before he could escape, Goodwin was crushed by the cars before they were set ablaze. He then fell to the floor. The daredevil suffered three-degree burns, fractured both legs, and a broken spine, which caused him to be paralyzed from the waist down.

Audrey Mestre’s Final Freedive

Audrey Mestre was known for her amazing freediving abilities. She regularly broke world records, often beating ones she’d previously set. Working alongside her husband, Francisco Ferreras, the two were considered the most famous freediving couple in the world. In October 2002, Mestre attempted to break a record off the coast of the Dominican Republic. After a few practice sessions, all seemed to be well. The French national grabbed the cable that pulled her 561 feet into the ocean in a single breath. However, once at the depth, several complications meant Mestre couldn’t return to the surface before losing consciousness. Even with the help of safety divers and Ferreras getting Mestre out of the water, she wasn’t able to be revived.

Jon James’s Music Video

Jon McMurray, better known as Jon James, was not only a freeskier, but he also conducted stunt performances and created music. The Canadian rapper liked to include his daredevil antics in his music videos. In October 2018, after training for months, James was set to walk on the wing of a small Cessna plane as it flew for a music video in British Columbia. But as he moved farther out, the aircraft lost control and began to go into a downward spiral. James held onto the wing. But by the time he let go, he was too close to the ground to open his parachute. While the pilot managed to gain control and land safely, James sadly didn’t survive the fall.

Kyle Lee Stocking’s Rope Swing

The downside of stunts on the Internet is sometimes, people that aren’t professionals are going to be inspired and try out the feat for themselves. And occasionally, it can result in a disaster. After seeing a viral video of a group that created a swing off the Corona Arch near Moab, Utah, Kyle Lee Stocking wanted to emulate it in March 2013. Looking down at the 110-foot drop, Stocking jumped off the arch, holding onto a rope as his friends watched. However, he had miscalculated the length of the rope - it was too long. Stocking swung into the sandstone below, perishing on impact.

Mike Hughes’s Rocket Test

After declaring he believed the Earth was flat, “Mad” Mike Hughes set out to raise funds to build a rocket so he could photograph the planet’s apparent disc-shaped appearance. In February 2020, near Barstow, California, Hughes was ready to launch the homemade, steam-powered rocket that he would pilot after years of testing. With the Science Channel filming the event as part of their “Homemade Astronauts” series, the rocket soon hit an issue as it took off. The parachute that was meant to put Hughes back on the ground safely released prematurely and detached. This left the rocket to crash land. Hughes sadly didn’t survive the impact. Afterward, Hughes’s public relations representative confirmed that the flat-earth declaration was a publicity stunt to get funding.

Corey Scott’s Motorcycle Jump

In February 1997, thousands of people packed into the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, to witness the motorcycling skills of Corey Scott as part of a monster car and truck rally event. While he was only twenty-eight, he had been performing stunts for years, even showcasing this particular feat several times. Scott was going to take off a ramp that launched him over seventy feet into the air and into a net that he would hold on to. However, on this night, he couldn’t grab it. Instead, he bounced off the net. This caused Scott to spin and fall. He landed on his head on the hard floor below, receiving several fatal injuries that he sadly didn’t survive from.

Wu Yongning’s Final Free Climb

In 2017, Wu Yongning was one of China’s biggest social media stars. On top of working in the film industry, he made a name for himself as a daredevil “rooftopper,” ascending some of the country’s tallest buildings with his impressive athleticism, all without safety equipment. But in November, reportedly looking to raise cash for his wedding and medical treatment for his mother, Wu climbed the sixty-two-story Huayuan Hua Center in Changsha. But as he did his signature pull-ups on the building’s edge whilst filming, he struggled to get back up and lost his grip. Wu plummeted and tragically perished from the impact.

Gary Wells’ Caesars Palace Fountain Jump

In 1967, legendary daredevil Evel Knievel attempted to jump the fountain at Ceasar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada … which we’ll have a lot more to say about later. In 1980, motorcycle daredevil Gary Wells decided to attempt the stunt himself for the TV show “That's Incredible!” Wells did manage to clear the fountain, but clipped the landing ramp, leading to a nasty crash. According to some sources, he went on to claim that someone must have moved his ramp. The accident resulted in Wells sustaining a concussion, broken legs, a fractured pelvis, and a tear in an artery. Amazingly, he survived.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Wells_(motorcyclist) - wiki on Wells

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19800916&id=KWdQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iVgDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3571,19501&hl=en - newspaper article on the accident and details of his injuries

https://lasvegassun.com/news/1996/mar/12/motorcycle-daredevils-find-fame-in-tragedy/ - article mentions Wells’s accident

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evel_Knievel#Caesars_Palace - wiki entry on Kineval’s jump

Unknown Broadcaster [Could be: “That's Incredible!” (1980-84) ]

Unknown year

https://youtu.be/ClbBoxg7esg - interview with Wells and footage of the accident

https://youtu.be/UxVUI6shXeQ - footage of the accident

“Pure Evel: American Legend” (2013)

Discovery Channel

https://youtu.be/XX2XUESyXsI - Evel Knievel’s failed jump as Caesar's Palace

Alain Robert’s Rappelling Incident

Dubbed the “French Spider-Man,” Alain Robert has garnered fame for climbing skyscrapers without much gear. In the industry, this is known as a free solo climb. Naturally, this type of exercise comes with enormous risk, and Robert has encountered his share of challenges and injuries. The scariest accident came on September 29, 1982. His rope failed while rappelling and he fell almost fifty feet. He sustained numerous broken bones and dislocated his elbow. He was also partially paralyzed, and spent nearly one week in a coma. He fully recovered and went on to make some of the most remarkable climbs of his career, like scaling the Empire State Building in 1994.

Joe Bonomo’s Plane Jump

A strongman and professional weightlifter, Joe Bonomo also served as a movie stuntman. One scene called for him and another stuntman to use just one parachute while they both jumped from a plane. However, no one wanted to participate in the outrageously dangerous endeavor, so Bonomo did it with a dummy. Once he landed in a body of water, the extreme winds caught his parachute and dragged him around for roughly half an hour. So he decided to use the dummy as a floating life preserver. While he was hauled around at high speeds and could’ve drowned, Bonomo’s quick thinking ensured his survival.

Richard Guzman’s Fall

This professional tightrope walker was a member of the famed Flying Wallendas, a group of highwire stunt performers. He was actually the son-in-law of the group’s founder, Karl Wallenda, having married his daughter, Carla. In July 1972, Guzman was performing with the troupe when he accidentally touched a live wire. His sixty-foot fall was broken by an attentive police officer, but the damage was done. He didn’t have a heartbeat, and while a nurse successfully administered CPR at the scene, he passed away in the hospital early the next morning.

Larry Walters’s Balloon Flight

On July 2, 1982, people in the US watched in amazement as truck driver Larry Walters took flight over Los Angeles in a lawn chair attached to numerous weather balloons. While it makes for a spectacular sight, the stunt is extraordinarily dangerous. Walters survived, but the journey was a rocky one. He took off prematurely, reaching a surprising height of 16,000 feet, losing his glasses and the weapon he was using to regulate his altitude, and drifted into general airspace in the process. On the way down, he got tangled in an active power line. Walters was fined for his stunt and given a Darwin Award. The chair he used ended up at the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, alongside other historic aircraft.

Sailendra Nath Roy’s Zip Line Accident

This Indian stuntman held a peculiar world record - he had traveled the furthest distance on a zip line using nothing but his own hair. While donning a ponytail, Roy traveled about 270 feet back in 2011. But in April of 2013, he attempted to break his own record by zip lining over West Bengal’s Teesta River. While performing the very risky stunt, his hair got caught and he remained dangling above the river for about forty-five minutes. Roy had a major heart attack during this time, and passed away on the spot.

Pavel Kashin’s Backflip

A stuntman from Russia, Pavel Kashin took an interest in parkour. A discipline popularized through film and television, parkour is often performed on the street without safety equipment. Kashin hailed from St. Petersburg, and in July 2013, he was reportedly performing a stunt on top of a sixteen-floor apartment complex. He tried to do a backflip on the building’s ledge but lost his balance. He didn’t survive the ensuing fall. Kashin’s friend managed to snap a photo of the final backflip, which was then shared on the Internet with the permission of his parents.

Jane Wicker’s Crash

In June of 2013, Ohio’s Dayton International Airport was hosting the Vectren Air Show, which obviously contained lots of airborne stunts. As part of the event, stuntwoman and wing walker Jane Wicker was performing alongside her pilot, Charlie Schwenker. Wing walking is a dangerous stunt in which people essentially move on a flying airplane. Wicker was sitting on the wing of Schwenker’s aircraft when something went terribly wrong and the plane plummeted to the ground. It immediately erupted in a fiery explosion, and both Wicker and Schwenker died instantly.

Sean Cunningham’s Accidental Ejection

A pilot for Britain’s Royal Air Force, Sean Cunningham was also a member of the Red Arrows, who perform intense aerial stunts. In November 2011, Cunningham was performing checks before a flight inside his aircraft when the ejection seat suddenly deployed. He was shot over 200 feet from his plane into the air. Unfortunately, the primary safety parachute then malfunctioned, and Cunningham fell to the ground as a result. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was soon pronounced dead. The company that manufactured the seat was ordered to pay just over £1 million for the incident.

Evel Knievel’s Caesars Palace Stunt

Perhaps the most famous stuntman of his generation, Evel Knievel attained worldwide fame through his exhilarating motorcycle jumps. On New Years Eve 1967, Knievel attempted his greatest feat yet - a 141 foot jump over the iconic fountains at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. No one had much faith in the event. ABC wouldn’t broadcast it live, and Knievel had to fund the filming himself. During the stunt, the bike’s speed suddenly diminished. Not having enough power, Knievel crashed badly. He sustained many debilitating injuries, including a concussion, multiple fractures, and a crushed pelvis.

Have you ever performed a daredevil stunt? Let us know what happened below.

CTV News

https://youtu.be/eyfzjNdf8FE - 2026 news segment on someone driving their boat off a waterfall