"caught on camera." i hit the ground like a meteorite. >> they're pushing the limits. >> nobody on knows what happens when you fall from 180 feet. >> climbing higher. speeding faster. >> everybody move. >> and falling further. >> oh, my. >> never turning down a challenge. >> the whole crowd was into it. everyone was egging me on. >> they take on the unknown. >> oh, my god. come on, buddy. >> and disaster is never far away. >> one of the problems in

setting records is you're going to experience things that other people have not. >> oh, we have an accident. caught on camera: full throttle." hello, i'm contessa brewer. welcome to "caught on camera." remember when your mother said if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. we're not sure what your mother would say about the people in this next hour. they certainly take that to heart. even if it means breaking bones along the way. as you watch their spectacular feats, remember, do not try this at home. not that you could, even if you wanted to. a high-flying bmx rider crashes to the earth. ouch. >> in my opinion, bmx is just as dangerous as what evel knievel

was doing. >> steve crandall should know. he's been part of this strange bmx culture since he was a kid. he owns a bike company and has been to hundreds of unofficial stunt events, held in back alleys and parking lots. >> bmxers in general are pretty subversive. it's an underground culture, a lot of outcasts, misfits, hell raisers and good time havers. >> thank you all for coming out. we'll run this at 4:00 exactly. >> today steve's in richmond, virginia, seeing a jumping competition over an unusual but tasty obstacle. >> we're going to run over the world's biggest plate of delicious tacos. >> as the riders demonstrate their skills above a giant bowl of tortilla chips, it quickly becomes clear that like nachos,

riders in this sport get chewed up fast. the stunts are amazing, but so are the crashes. >> oh! >> today's riding was probably some of the most world class riding that you'll ever see in a back street parking lot. over a plate of nachos that probably will ever exist in the bmx, or humanity in general. >> the nachos event may seem absolutely nuts, but it's light fare compared to the aptly named bone-death competition. a bmx event steve covered in 2006 in massachusetts. >> we're riding in a swamp on some garbage. the scene in bedford was probably one of the weirdest scenes i've ever witnessed. and it was a course in between two buildings, built on a swamp. >> bmx rider paul herrane built

it. >> it just started to be a bet. just build the most ridiculous possible things you can think of. have everybody come out and throw money into a hat and say, we have something we want to do, and we think it's worth a pritz. you do it. and i'll tell you what your reward will be for doing it. it just got everyone to push themselves to the next level. >> they had riders jumping off ledges. riding down rails. riding across like two x 6s. they went so far as to have dead animals on the landings. >> one of the dare-devil riders that sticks out in this crowd of dare-devils is max. he wants to attempt the biggest, most difficult jump in the competition. a ten-foot-high leap over two septic tanks known as the holy roller. >> the holy roller was the big one. we were talking about since that morning, as a joke that, maybe

somebody will jump that. i didn't think someone would literally try it. >> in the bmx world, if you build it, apparently they will jump. >> the whole crowd was really into it. and they were chanting bone death. egging me on. it was just something i felt like i had to do at that point. >> max charges down the make-shift runway pedaling the leather. >> i was a little bit concerned. >> concern? not a word you hear often at bmx events. but steve was right to be concerned. the trick was too difficult. he crashes to the ground. steve interviews him just moments later. >> what just happened? >> i tried to jump the holy roller and i bounced off the roller. on my face. it was fun.

>> in fact, matt had so much fun, he wants to try the stunt again. >> when matt made his first attempt to jump the holy roller, it was scary enough to watch him bounce off it, let alone to tell me he wanted to do it again. >> i just had the urge to go for it again. and to see how far i could really get. it was like, maybe if i push a little bit harder this time, i'll have just enough to get over it, you know. >> he gave it a little bit more force. he tried out a couple more pieces of plywood and pedalled full throttle, really went at it. >> it's not enough. >> he bounced his head off the back of the tank and was thrown down another couple feet and hit his head again. >> this time matt does not leap to his feet. he knocked himself out. >> he wasn't moving. he's hurt. and he's hurt bad. and that's what scared us. >> mat? >> someone called the paramedics and the cops and everyone showed

up. >> matt has a concussion and is taken to the hospital. but he doesn't seem much worse for the wear. >> i wasn't in a coma or anything. by probably the next week i just hopped on my bike and went riding. >> his fellow bmx riders didn't even know he went to the hospital. >> i don't know if he actually left with the ambulance or not. i think he turned them down. i think he just went and got some food. >> he probably went to dunkin' donuts and got some munch kins. >> or perhaps they think he went looking for nachos. after all, bmxers are drawn to that flavor. the spice, the variety, and let's not forget, the crunch. >> your friends are playful about it. if you're going to fall eventually, it really gets me the fact that you can fall a hundred times. but when you get that trick, it's worth it.

>> coming up -- >> i'm doing this thing, man. >> a kayaker takes the plunge. >> oh, my god. >> but is he diving towards disaster? >> come on, buddy. where are you at? >> and out of control, a racer is dragged by his runaway bike. when "caught on camera: full throttle" continues. by two, shoots a three, game over. so two seconds ago... hey mr. and mrs. harris, where's kevin? say hi kevin. hi. mom, put me down. put...the phone...down. hey guys. did you hear... the choys had their baby? so 29 seconds ago. well we should get them a gift. [ choys ] thanks for the gift! [ amy and rob ] you're welcome! you're welcome! [ male announcer ] get it fast with at&t. the nation's largest 4g network. at&t. ♪ fight both fast with new tums freshers! concentrated relief that goes to work in seconds and freshens breath. new tums freshers. ♪ tum...tum...tum...tum... tums! ♪ [ male announcer ] fast relief, fresh breath,

all in a pocket sized pack. some aerosols may just mix with them. can febreze remove it. [ moderator ] describe the smell. it's very pleasant. some kind of flower maybe? awww, oh yuck! [ male announcer ] febreze air effects doesn't mix, it actually removes odors. so you can breathe happy. but we couldn't simply repeat history. we had to create it. introducing the 2013 lexus gs, with leading-edge safety technology, like available blind spot monitor...

[ tires screech ] ...night view... and heads-up display. [ engine revving ] the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back.

a kayaker plunges over an enormous waterfall on purpose. >> holy [ muted ]. >> and disappears into the foaming water below. >> oh, my god. come on, buddy. >> it takes a certain type of person with a certain threshold for danger to think going over a giant waterfall is a good idea, but such people do exist, and tyler bradt is one of them. >> my name is tyler bradt.

i live here in missoula, montana, and i'm a professional kayaker. >> he's traveled the globe traveling after rapid after churning rapid. >> what i've fallen in love with is the extreme side of kayaking. basically running difficult rivers, hard rapids, big drops, and waterfalls. >> tyler paddled over his first waterfall at the age of 15, and has never looked back. >> i would say as an extreme kayaker, i've probably run 100, 150-plus waterfalls. i've kind of lost count over the years. >> in september 2007, tyler came across alexandra falls in canada's northwest territories, it was far higher than any waterfall he had ever done before, 107 feet tall. and he decided to go for it.

>> the feeling behind running that waterfall was a moment in time that i will remember forever. i surfaced upright without even flipping over off that waterfall. it was amazing. >> the ride over alexandra falls didn't just give tyler a major adrenaline rush, he also gained the world record for the highest waterfall anyone had kayaked over. nobody could successfully paddle out of a bigger drop, nobody else but him, that is. in the spring of 2009, tyler comes across palouse falls in washington state, just five hours' drive from his hometown. >> a picture-perfect waterfall. it was a neat thing to have spent my entire life traveling the world looking for rivers and waterfalls and find the most beautiful, biggest waterfall i have ever seen right here in my backyard.

>> picture-perfect, maybe. and this is where most people would snap a photograph, and leave it at that. but he left the falls with a nagging feeling and comes back to look at it again and again. >> we're standing here at palouse falls. and just haven't been able to get it out of my mind. you know, this is my third time here in like three weeks. it's like 160, 180 feet tall, which is a little wild. nobody has come remotely close to running anything this big. nobody knows what happens when you fall from 180 feet, so definitely makes you a little scared for sure thinking about it. >> tyler and his kayaking partner russ sturgis go out to check conditions at the lip of the waterfall. >> dude, the level seems absolutely perfect. i love the look of the right-hand side slip. there's nothing that says no, except for the fact that it's a little high.

>> nothing that says no? tyler has a different take on waterfalls than your average sightseer. >> dude, let's do this thing, man. i think this needs to happen. >> tyler and russ call in their support team. it looks like tomorrow will be the big day. >> in doing something like palouse falls, you can't really practice for it in any other way, but mentally preparing yourself. and running it over and over again in my head. >> maybe so. but there's a big difference between visualizing going over a waterfall and actually doing it. the next day the safety team takes their places. two kayakers wading in the pool, a rescuer ready to rappel down behind the waterfall, and another on the shore with a lifeline. they also have multiple video

cameras pointed at the falls ready to record what will happen. >> at that point i was fully prepared to be able to walk away from it and say, look, this isn't something that i want to do. as it was, i decided that it was something that i wanted to do. so i gave the team the go-ahead signal that things were happening. i got in my kayak. >> then, he pushes off. >> i'm approaching palouse, it's flat water all the way to the lip of the waterfall. so you have time for conscious thought processes, am i making the right decision. which is a dangerous thing to be thinking if you're going off a waterfall. and as soon as the water takes hold, your kayak begins to accelerate. everything goes away and you're simply focused on running the waterfall. >> ah! >> tyler disappears into the mist as his friends hold their breaths. >> oh, my god. come on, buddy.

>> looking for sign of him. >> come on. where are you, buddy. where are you at. where you at. >> he's made it. he emerges from the shadow of the falls behind his friends' boats. amazingly he's unharmed, with only a broken paddle to show for the brutal plunge into the pounding water. >> the impact off of palouse was incredibly violent. i was jackknifed out of my vest, my paddle snapped, the wind was knocked out of me. >> he discovered palouse falls was a record-smashing 186 feet tall, almost twice as high as alexandra falls. >> i'm very used to going over the mist of a waterfall, reaching free-fall and landing. but on palouse i experienced ak sem ration i've never experienced before. in a matter of seconds you go

from being on the top of the waterfall to being at the bottom of the waterfall. it was an incredibly overwhelming experience. >> you might say the whole experience was completely over the top. so what's next for tyler? will he try to beat his new record? >> i don't envision myself running anything higher than palouse. that's also what i said when i ran alexander, though, so i guess it's hard to tell what the future will hold. but i'm definitely looking forward to finding that out and to continue living my lifestyle as a kayaker and traveling the world and being able to meet and experience amazing people alongside to incredible locations. coming up -- a speeding motorcycle smashes to pieces. >> he crashed at probably 200 miles an hour. nothing moving out there. >> and are these guys flipin' crazy?

when "caught on camera: full throttle" continues.ur h ouse and flip on your lights. [ brad ] at ge we build turbines that power the world. they go into power plants which take some form of energy, harness it, and turn it into more efficient electricity. [ ron ] when i was a kid i wanted to work with my hands, that was my thing. i really enjoy building turbines. it's nice to know that what you're building is gonna do something for the world. when people think of ge, they typically don't think about beer. a lot of people may not realize that the power needed to keep their budweiser cold and even to make their beer comes from turbines made right here. wait, so you guys make the beer? no, we make the power that makes the beer. so without you there'd be no bud? that's right. well, we like you. [ laughter ] ♪ not financially. so we switched to the bargain detergent and i found myself using three times more than they say to and the clothes still weren't as clean as with tide. so we're back to tide. they're cuter in clean clothes. that's my tide. what's yours?

fantastic! [ man ] pro-gresso they fit! okay-y... okay??? i've been eating progresso and now my favorite old jeans...fit. okay is there a woman i can talk to? [ male announcer ] progresso. 40 soups 100 calories or less.

a motorcycle racer pushes the limits. and gets dragged hundreds of yards by a runaway bike. its it's june 28th, 1998. ron cook is out to break the # 00-mile-per-hour land speed motorcycle record in california. >> there was a little excitement in the air. because ron is the number one biker. he knew he was going to go fast. >> videographer mark is at the starting line. there to catch what he thinks will be another history-making day for ron cook. after all, ron has already smashed 12 other speed records. and rarely disappoints. >> i've seen ron race before. he's very fast on a pike. his bike is 200 miles an hour, kawasaki has a nitrous bottle on

it. this thing is a rocket. >> mark watches as ron shoots off down the track, disappearing into a cloud of dust. it's only later that he learned what happened next. ron moves up to fourth gear and hits the nitrous boost button, gaining enough horsepower to hit top speed. he's blasting at 175 miles per hour, when his front wheel begins to wobble. ron struggles to regain control, but it's a losing battle. he makes a split-second decision to abandon the bike before it crashes. but as this terrifying video shows, ron doesn't fall away from the bike. his right leg is caught under the seat, pulling him at almost 200 miles per hour along the hard, dusty surface. >> the bike actually dragged him like a horse would drag a cowboy. so it was quite a ride. >> the friction of ron's body against the ground burns through his protective suit. in another moment it will tear his skin to shreds.

somehow ron flips his body over. amazingly he pulls his leg free. as the bike speeds away, ron tumbles along the ground. it doesn't seem possible, but ron has not only survived the accident, he can stand up. and has barely a scratch on him. >> i thank the lord that i'm still here. with minor injuries. not too bad. >> i saw him shortly after. he drove his pickup truck back to the start line. >> i do plan to run again. i still want to get the 200-mile-an-hour record. this is part of the game here. and it's just a matter of time before you're going to get in a wreck. >> you think ron might have learned his lesson and given up racing. but only two weeks after his spectacular wipeout, he's back at it, showing up at el mirage

dry lake for another shot at the record. mark is there, and isn't at all surprised to see ron. >> he's very successful, very fast. there was no way ron was not going to get back on that motorcycle. >> but ron has a new worry. track conditions don't look good. >> it's all broken up. i don't like this. >> gets kind of squirrelly. >> track conditions would definitely be better. >> but ron's not about to back down. he's ready to get back on the bike and do what it is he does best -- break records. >> i'm in a cautious state of mind. i made some changes on the motorcycle. but still a little bit of nervousness there. there always is after a crash. you've got to get back on the saddle and do it again. i'm just optimistically cautious. >> as ron prepares his bike, mark is manning his camera midway down the track. >> i always want to make sure i get a shot of ron. because he is the fastest thing

on two wheels. i heard over the radio that ron was taking off from the start line. so i immediately grabbed my camera, and aimed. and almost immediately he went into the high-speed wobble. >> mark's seen that wobble before, and he knows what's coming. as the camera rolled, ron's bike hits the loose dirt on the track. instantly ron flies through the air as the bike smashes to pieces in a cloud of dust. >> everybody move! >> the crash is about 200 miles an hour. there was quite a debris field. there was debris flying everywhere. there was dust, there was motorcycle parts. it was difficult to see exactly where ron was. there was nothing moving out in. >> emts rush to ron's side. eventually word comes back to the anxious spectators, incredibly ron has survived once again. >> i hit the ground just like a meteorite. tumbling, tumbling. it felt like i was in a washing machine.

all of a sudden everything was quiet. and all i saw was a big blue sky, and a big bright sun. i'm laying on the ground on my back side, looking up through my helmet going, hmm, maybe i'm in heaven now. maybe this all ended. >> lying on the ground ron tests his limbs to see if they're still attached. >> got to my right leg, it moved. when i lifted it up, the leg lifted up but my foot stayed on the ground. >> ron has broken five bones in his right leg. this time he's rushed to the hospital. he's also broken his right arm and has third and fourth-degree burns over his body from skidding across the hard surface. >> i went 588 feet. that's like two football fields tumbling end over end. i was amazed i could go that far and still come out alive. >> ron not only survived, and he has a new record. but not the one he was aiming for, it's for surviving the highest speed motorcycle crash.

and that record is good enough for ron cook. after a long period of recovery, he retires from racing. >> i survived two bad accidents. i should have died in both of them. maybe the third one's going to do me in. maybe my recovery took three years for a reason. maybe it made me slow down. saying, you know what, son, you've done enough. >> coming up -- balancing on the brink. a high-wire walker steps into danger. and look -- >> look, dude. >> a flip-flop crumbles as a mountain biker tumbles. >> i literally thought i was watching miles fall to his death. ♪ ♪

♪ that should do it. enjoy your new shower. [ door opens, closes ]

nature valley trail mix bars are made with real ingredients you can see. like whole roasted nuts, chewy granola, and real fruit. nature valley trail mix bars. 100% natural. 100% delicious.

i'm my lisa rehberger. president obama called hamid karzai today to express shock

and sadness over the purported killing of afghan sill yans by american soldiers. 16 people, including women and children were killed in two villages in kandahar. a moment of silence is observed in japan at the exact time an earthquake and tsunami that killed 16,000 people in japan last year. welcome back to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. we're watching adventure seekers, pushing the limits, and often crashing. but why do they do it? what makes them drive faster, climb higher, take bigger chances than the rest of us? our nesk risk taker has a special motivation for a breathtaking stunt that puts him on top of the world.

christian is balancing on a narrow cord 3,000 feed above a fjord. suddenly -- it's august 3rd, 2006. christian is atop a mountain in southwest norway. he strung the nylon cord itself, testing each screw to make sure it's securely fastened. then edging along the wire, checking it inch by inch. his only protection if he falls during the attempt will be a safety harness attached to the line. if the cord or screws break, christian will plunge to his death. >> there are a lot of things that can go wrong. for example, you could have something sharp in your pocket that can cut the line. >> once christian has gone through his safety check, he starts psyching himself up for the attempt. music gets him in the zone.

it's hard to believe anyone can relax, perched so high above the rocky cliff. but with his feet dangling over the edge of the canyon, like he's just sitting at the kitchen table, christian finds peace. he's ready. he edges along the rope to the other side of the ravine. christian climbs onto the line, and struggles to find his balance. he's tried and failed to do this same slack line walk before, so he knows how difficult it will be. >> the first steps are some of the worst. the start is the most difficult. >> tentatively he takes a few steps. he tumbles. instinct tifl clinging to the rope for safety. it's a scary reminder of how easily this can go wrong.

seemingly unshaken, christian prepares to start again. unlike a tight rope, the slack line is loose. it bounces and swings as christian tries to balance. the line is flat, but it's only one inch thick. christian is 3,280 feet in the air. that's nearly three times the height of the empire state building. slowly, cautiously, breathing deeply, christian places one foot in front of the other, bridging the gulf step by step. as he reaches the halfway point of the 39-foot crossing, he starts singing to himself. a tiny voice in the vast canyon. seconds later -- >> woo-hoo! >> he's made it.

>> yeah! >> immediately after the stunt christian tries to explain why he took on the challenge. >> we create contrasts in our lives. so to really be brave, we also have to experience hell. it's good to come home and sit on the sofa and relax. >> be careful. >> a mountain biker plunges head over heels down a rocky cliff. >> it's hard to describe the experience when you think you see another human being in the process of dying. >> in 2004, southern california. an experienced cyclist, a new year's day trial ride.

>> just to start the year off right. >> bill mounted a video camera and is recording as the men make their way along the narrow cliff top path. they've been riding for almost three hours when miles brakes abruptly. this section of the trail is crumbling along the edge, leaving just inches to spare above a dangerously steep drop. >> look at this, dude. >> miles decides to try riding over the eroded area and moves his back up the trail to get a running start. >> where we stopped looked pretty scary to me. i couldn't see riding that. i walked on by. as i'm walking my bike over there, i look down over the edge and go, holy, crap, that's a big -- that's a big drop. >> as bill watches from the other side of the gap, another friend, eric, attempts the narrow trail. >> eric got up to sort of like the crust spot, which is the nastiest spot along the trail. he decided to tripod into the area. >> he makes it, but barely. >> that's a hell of a drop. >> now it's miles' turn.

he tries the same technique but loses his balance. suddenly disaster. >> oh, my -- oh, hell. you see him fall for a while and see him hit and bounce. he's catching more air as he goes down. he went shoulder over shoulder. i literally thought i was watching miles fall to his death. >> after miles plummets almost 150 feet over jagged rocks, his friends see him leap to his feet. >> you all right? >> bill puts the camera down as miles scrambles back up the stony slope. he can't believe he's not more badly hurt. >> i was wearing a helmet and a backpack. both of which i credit with saving my life. it was a big drop. and very unforgiving terrain. my first thought was, that's it, i'm going to die.

i was so focused on trying to grab at anything i could, trying to stop my fall, that i guess i really wasn't thinking about how much it hurt. >> but miles will have plenty of time to feel exactly how much it hurt. once he makes it back to the path, he must bike in horrible pain back to the trail head, more than ten miles away. >> my right hand was broken, my left wrist was very badly sprained so it was very hard to hang on to the handlebars. and i broke my glasses, and i'm very near sighted, so it was very hard to see where i was going. but the plus side is that movement kept me from going into shock. >> despite his close call, miles' cliff top tumble hasn't deterred him from mountain biking. why would it. like all these daredevils he's soon back at it six weeks later, riding in a race in arizona. >> people ask me if i learned anything from this. i'm like, no, i haven't.

if i was faced with that situation again, i would give it another shot. i hope i would make it this time. coming up -- hydroplane racing is one twisted sport. >> you've got to remember that you're traveling at over a football field per second. if something happens, it's going to be big. and gigantic waves make for colossal wipeouts. >> that guy's going to die. at&tk is fast. hey, heard any updates on the game? i think it's final seconds, ohh, down by two, shoots a three, game over. so two seconds ago... hey mr. and mrs. harris, where's kevin? say hi kevin. hi. mom, put me down. put...the phone...down. hey guys. did you hear... the choys had their baby? so 29 seconds ago. well we should get them a gift. [ choys ] thanks for the gift! [ amy and rob ] you're welcome! you're welcome! [ male announcer ] get it fast with at&t. the nation's largest 4g network. at&t. ♪ if you have painful, swollen joints, i've been in your shoes. one day i'm on top of the world...

the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system, it may lower your ability to fight infections. serious, sometimes fatal events including infections, tuberculis, lymphoma, other cancers, and nervous system and blood disorders have occurred. before starting enbrel, your doctor should test you for tuberculosis and discuss whether you've been to a region where certain fungal infections are common. don't start enbrel if you have an infection like the flu. tell your doctor if you're prone to infections, have cuts or sores, have had hepatitis b, have been treated for heart failure, or if, while on enbrel, you experience persistent fever, bruising, bleeding, or paleness. get back to the things that matter most. ask your rheumatologist if enbrel is right for you. [ male announcer ] enbrel. the #1 biologic medicine prescribed by rheumatologists.

forty years ago, he wasn't looking for financial advice. back then, he had something more important to do.

he wasn't focused on his future but fortunately, somebody else was. at usaa we provide retirement planning for our military, veterans and their families. now more than ever, it's important to get financial advice from people who share your military values. call now for our free guide and tips on planning for your retirement this tax season. hydroplane, they're the fastest boats in the water, flying across the surface at 200 miles per hour. at this speed, when something goes wrong, disaster.

>> in the blink of an eye, a piece of equipment fails, or a driver makes a mistake, and the boat could be 60 feet in the air and upside down and backwards. >> at first glance, conservatively dressed bill may look more like a banker than a daredevil. but this champion driver has been racing hydroplanes for years. and has been in some pretty dramatic crashes. >> you're traveling at over a football field per second. so if you aren't anticipating what's going to happen, you're likely to crash. >> they flip through the air as if they weigh nothing. but these boats are 30 feet long, 7,000 pounds, with 4,000 horsepower engines. >> a hydroplane there's a celebration of success. everything about it is bigger and badder and more extensive than you could ever possibly imagine. >> they said imagine driving your car at 200 miles an hour over two and three-foot speed

bumps without springs or shocks. that's what it feels like to ride this thing. >> the environment of looking from the outside of a hydroplane, this is a wonderful, graceful vehicle that flies over the water. the truth is, the boat's actually beating the snot out of the driver that's inside. >> dave fell in love with racing boats as a teenager. while most kids his age were out riding bicycles -- >> i started out racing flat-bottom boats a long time ago because that's what my uncle had done. >> dave, good-bye! >> it was a lot of fun. it progressed into bigger flat-bottom boats, managed to set a lot of world records and win a lot of championships. >> from there, of course, it was a natural step to racing hydroplanes. dave soon breaking almost every record in the book. in 2004, he decides to see just how fast he can drive his legendary hydroplane, miss

budweiser, and tries for the world straightaway speed record. >> we'll race against time and mother nature. we'll see what we're made of. >> dave doesn't let his nerves show as he gets ready to start the record attempt. >> one of the problems with setting records, you know you're going to experience things that other people have not. everybody pay attention, the course is live. >> they average the time over two one-kilometer runs. >> 9.83. >> the speed to beat is 198 miles per hour. dave is buckled into the cockpit and hits the gas. >> here he comes. >> 213.437 miles an hour. >> he's on record pace over the first leg. for the second leg he gives it everything he's got. >> 2.85. >> 225. 30. >> he's out of it. >> he's more than fast enough to break the world record.

but the burst of speed also breaks the boat's rudder. >> okay, everybody, the race is on hold. >> luckily, dave isn't hurt in this record stunt. >> broke the rudder bracket. >> but it's a very different story seven years earlier. dave was at the columbia cup championship in washington state, ready to claim the record for the most consecutive race wins. this would be his 20th win in a row. but as he burst out of the gate, almost instantly the boat has hit two waves in a row. at top speeds, the force is too much and the hydroplane blows over. the top of the boat crashes onto the water. exploding the protective canopy is sitting under, ripping off

his oxygen mask and submerging him in the water. >> i was unconscious underwater. the safety team got there right away, got me up onto the bottom of the boat. they cleared the airway and. >> amazingly dave survived. his hand is crushed by the flying metal with the canopy. he ends up losing two fingers on his right hand. it's the type of crash that might deter another driver from racing altogether, but dave is no quitter. >> i just felt i had something more to give. and for the sport. and things to prove to myself. >> dave and the team rebuild miss budweiser, redesigning the driver's capsule to make it safer. >> luckily to date, since we've done that, nobody's been killed or hurt significantly inside that capsule. >> years later, dave will have good reason to be thankful for that safer capsule. in the summer of 2009, he

entered thunder on the ohio, a race he's won ten times before. in his first heat, another driver loses control and hits dave's boat. dave flips over and smashes into the water. but dave's work redesigning the driver's capsule pays off. it stayst2t in one piece and he waits in safety for help to arrive. >> the only injury i got was a finger injury, where it broke a knuckle in the finger. so as boat accidents go, i'll take that. that was a good one. >> after decades of speeding, crashes, and tumbling through the air, dave says driving a hydroplane is a thrill only few can experience. but many more can enjoy watching safely from the shore. >> there's such an unexpected and unanticipated and

unpredictable force. i think people watch, because they know when something happens, it's going to be big. coming up -- wipeout. >> my god. >> oh, he's down. >> that guy's going to die. >> a surfer is trapped under water, pounded by giant waves. >> you could tell even if he gets a breath after this one, it's going to be horrible. >> when "caught on camera: full throttle" continuing. [ laughing ] ahh, cloudy glasses. you didn't have to come over! easy. hi. cascade kitchen counselor. look!

over time, a competing gel can leave cloudy hard water deposits, but cascade complete pacs help leave glasses sparkling. cascade. love it or your money back. ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8.

a surfer comes tumbling down a giant wall of water and gets trapped underneath the crushing waves. >> that guy's going to die. >> in the world of big wave surfing, maverick surf spot in northern california is legendary. >> it's like a holy spot for big wave surfing. >> neil matthews has been surfing almost all his life, but he's never seen anything like

mavericks. >> if you go to mavericks for your first time, pretty much no matter where you surfed before and what big wave experience you've had, you will find it to be remarkable. >> they've measured waves up to like 70 feet. and they actually get bigger than that. >> grant washburn has been surfing and shooting the giant waves of mavericks for almost two decades. he's seen some incredible surfing and insane wipeouts. >> it's not necessarily harder to ride big waves. the stakes are higher, and they are punished more severely. you make a big mistakes at mavericks, it will be unlike anything else that would happen to a surfer anywhere else. january 30th, 1998, the el nino weather pattern makes for a winter of record surf and big swell is coming in from hawaii.

>> it didn't originally look that huge, but they actually were so thick and powerful they were some of biggest waves we had seen. >> powerful enough to give the most experience surfers second thoughts, but a few decide they could some of this opportunity. as grant films, one of mavericks' best known surfers who goes by the name flea, goes for a wave. he doesn't make it. >> when he came up to get a breath, the next wave came up on him, beat him down into the deep, he held his breath, got pushed into the rocks and got stuck there. >> the leash attaches the surfboard to his leg is wrapped around one of the jagged rocks so dangerous, surfers call it the bone yard. >> just surge after surge, held

in the spot. we thought we were going to watch him die, because he's in 15-foot whitewater being pounded by waves. no way anyone can get there. >> miraculously the leash comes off and flea makes it safely to shore. >> it wasn't that big of a mistake, that bold of an attempt so that scares everybody off a bit. people are like, whoa, okay. >> everybody but one. neil is already on his way out to the surf spot and doesn't sea fle a's narrow escape. after a full 45 minutes of paddling he reaches the points where the waves are breaking. he takes it. he reaches the point where waves are breaking, and he takes it. >> oh, he's dead. that guy's going to die. >> his balance was thrown off. he falls really hard into the middle of the wave. the wave lands on him. even if he gets a breath after

this one, it's going to be horrible. >> on shore, grant watches, and scans the foamy water, hoping he'll surface. >> we can see a surfboard, with a rope to his leg, and it's pointing up the whole time, which means he's about 20 feet under water. >> surfers call this tombstoning. he is trapped deep under water. a second wave bigger than the first crashes directly onto his board. >> i was looking up and seeing daylight thinking i'm going to get a breath. then all of a sudden i dropped back down to the bottom like an elevator ride. i was hanging out there thinking, okay, maybe i need to get some air. i'm starting to get a little worried. then it happened again, another boom. >> a third wave has broken overhead. the boom shoots neil up to the surface and finally he catches a breath, but just as he gasps for air, he spots the jagged rocks

and knows he's in deadly territory, the same place flea just narrowly escaped. the boneyard. >> there was another wall of whitewater coming toward me. i decided to grab onto the back of my board and point it toward the crack in the rocks. somehow i managed to balance myself between the rocks and make to to the lagoon safely. >> he was held under water for almost a full minute before he drew a breath. it's amazing he's still alive. >> i don't think there's many wipeouts in the history of the board nearly as bad as his. he lived, but he got lucky. there are people that have died. >> neil paddles to shore through the foaming waves. he later discovers that the pounding whitewater broke his back.

>> i couldn't do anything. i was that far under. it felt like i was going over the falls over and over again. but surfer dudes are built tough. a broken back didn't stop neil from returning to mavericks, even if this maverick approaches the sport a little more cautiously. the rush he gets surfing is in his bones. >> when i finish every single ride i ever had at mavericks, i feel enlightened and i feel like i've done something just wonderful. so there you go. extreme athletes who are not just breaking barriers, they're smashing them to pieces again and again. if you have a video you'd like to sent to us, logon to our website caughtoncamera.msnbc.com. i'm contessa brewer. that's it for this edition of "caught on camera."