Flying Wallenda Gets OK for Niagara Falls Stunt

(NewsCore) - A member of the Flying Wallendas daredevil clan will become the first person in more than a century to attempt to cross the Niagara Falls gorge on a tightrope after the Niagara Parks Commission authorized the stunt Wednesday.

The Canadian commission reversed its decision in December to deny Nik Wallenda's request to perform the feat after hearing from the high-wire artist that it could generate significant economic returns for the region.

The state of New York and the mayor of Niagara Falls, N.Y., already had agreed to it, so the Canadian commission's permission was the last obstacle.

"This decision was approved in part in recognition of the role that stunting has played in the history and promotion of Niagara Falls," Niagara Parks Commission chair Janice Thomson said in a statement.

The last person to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope was James Hardy in 1896.

Wallenda, 33, is a seventh-generation member of the famous family of circus acrobats and daredevil stunt performers, the Flying Wallendas, best known for performing high-wire acts without safety nets.

Wallenda reportedly hopes to walk across a two-inch (five centimeter) wide, 1,500-feet (450-meter) long wire anchored on both the Canadian and US sides of the massive falls, while a rescue helicopter and dive teams stand by.

The tightrope walk, which could take up to 45 minutes, was expected to take place this summer.