Initially paralyzed from the waist down, Ms. Vulovic eventually made a near-full recovery and even returned to work for the airline in a desk job. However, her cause of death is unknown at this time. GET IN TOUCH WITH A RECORD SPECIALIST (Opens in a new window), Rumeysa Gelgi, tallest woman living, breaks three new records, Love is in the air as highest speed dating event record is set on board jet plane. The explosion and crash killed everyone on board. I think it was the man who put the bomb in the baggage. A verification email has been sent to you. Initially paralysed from the waist down, Vulovi eventually made almost a full recovery and even returned to work for the airline in a desk job. Ia jatuh dari pesawat setelah terjadinya sebuah ledakan di kompartemen bagasi JAT Penerbangan 367 . Vesna's physicians later determined that . She was thus officially acknowledged as having surpassed the records of other fall survivors, such as Alan Magee, Juliane Koepcke, Nicholas Alkemade, and Ivan Chisov. She had a fractured skull, two crushed vertebrae and a broken pelvis, ribs and legs. [11] The Czechoslovak Civil Aviation Authority later attributed the explosion to a briefcase bomb. Though it seemed impossible that anyone could have survived such a crash, Honke soon realized that someone had. She was trapped in the cone of the tail and landed on a slope after plunging 10,160m from the DC-9 aircraft. The Czech authorities concluded that explosives in a suitcase had detonated and tore the jet apart. Serbias state TV said Saturday that Ms. Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade. "Everybody wanted to buy something for his or her family," she recalled. Vesna Vulovi (Serbian Cyrillic: , pronounced [sna loit]; 3 January 1950 - 23 December 2016) was a Serbian flight attendant who holds the Guinness world record for surviving the highest fall without a parachute: 10,160 m (33,330 ft; 6.31 mi).She was the sole survivor after an explosion tore through the baggage compartment of JAT Flight 367 on 26 . Vesna Vulovic, a flight attendant for JAT Yugoslav Airlines in 1972, set a Guinness world record when she fell some 33,000 feet and lived.Vulovic's odds-defying plunge, which happened following an explosion of the DC-9 she was flying in, is one of the most remarkable accident-survival stories of all time, and made her a national hero in Yugoslavia. Vesna and her friends grew up in Yugoslavia listening to The Beatles so this was an extra special moment for her. Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian flight attendant who holds the world record for surviving the highest fall without a parachute when her plane broke apart. "If you can survive what I survived," she said, "you can survive anything. An instant national heroine, she went on to put her celebrity at the service of political causes, protesting against Slobodan Milosevics rule in the 1990s and later campaigning for liberal forces in elections. Ms. Vulovics improbable story began on Jan. 26, 1972, in Copenhagen, where she was assigned to a Yugoslav Airlines crew for a flight to Belgrade. An instant national heroine, she went on to put her celebrity at the service of political causes, protesting against Slobodan Milosevic's rule in the 1990s and later campaigning for liberal forces in elections. Serbia's state TV said Ms Vulovic was. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. While Vulovi had been hoping to go sightseeing, the rest of the group seemed focused on shopping and sitting in the hotel. Where was the outcry then? The Guinness Book of World Records says the plunge was from a height of 33,000 feet, the longest recorded fall without a parachute. A bomb, which may . An hour into the flight, the plane, a DC-9, blew up over the Czech village of Srbska Kamenice. Vesna Vulovic died in Belgrade in December 2016, at the age of 66. She had total amnesia from the hour preceding her fall until one month afterwards. Ms. Vulovic was working as a Yugoslav Airlines flight attendant on Jan. 26, 1972, when the Douglas DC-9 airliner she was aboard blew up high above the snowy mountain ranges of Czechoslovakia. El avin sufri una explosin en su parte delantera que provoc que se partiese en dos y se precipitase desde una altura de 10.000 metros sobre una ladera nevada de Kamenice, en la actual . [4], Vulovi's parents both died within a few years of the crash. After arriving in hospital, Vulovic fell into a coma for 10 days. Amazingly, Vesna was able to walk again after ten months, albeit with a permanent limp due to the twisting of her spine. Both boxes were analyzed by specialists from Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands, who confirmed that the plane had truly fallen from the stated height of 33,333 ft (10,160 m). She was. 50 years on, this remains the highest fall survived without a parachute ever. Three vertebrae were broken, and she was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down and in a coma for a time. Vulovi was rescued by a woodsman who followed her screams in the dark forest. All of the other 27 passengers and crew on board died. (The Associated Press) She beat the odds by surviving a 10,000-metre (33,000 feet) fall from a plane, and became a national hero in Serbia because of it. "I was found with my head down and my colleague on top of me. At 4:01 p.m., 46 minutes after take off, an explosion in the luggage compartment tore the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aircraft into three pieces. As her death-defying tale continues to fascinate people around the world, she will also live on as a symbol of survival against all odds. According to Guinness World Records, 30 years after the crash, Vulovic said: Im not lucky. These injuries resulted in her being temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Regardless of the scenario, Vulovic survived the ordeal, despite suffering a crushed skull, snapped legs and three broken vertebrae. Unlike the other 27 passengers and crew, Vulovic survived, likely in part because the section of fuselage where she was trapped landed on a snowy, tree-covered hillside, the BBC reports. [1][2] Her father was a businessman and her mother was a fitness instructor. [18] Vulovi continued to fly regularly, stating that other passengers were surprised to see her on flights and wanted to sit next to her. Ms. Vulovic was working as a Yugoslav Airlines flight attendant on Jan. 26, 1972, when the DC-9 airliner she was aboard blew up high above the snowy . One man seemed terribly annoyed. From the hour preceding the crash until almost a month afterward, Vulovi had no idea what had happened. . The DC-9 broke up midflight at 33,000 feet (10,160 metres) and crashed into a wooded area in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). An air stewardess who miraculously survived a plunge from 33,000 feet after her plane exploded in mid-air has died at the age of 66. They never reached the second stopover in Zagreb, Croatia. [1] Her reputation as a "Cold War heroine" also extended to the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries. [20], In the early 1990s, Vulovi and her husband divorced. Vesna Vulovic. Vulovic entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1985 for the highest fall survived without a parachute.. The Douglas DC-9 went down on January 26 that year over the mountains . The crew had the entire afternoon and the following morning to themselves. I think he had checked in a bag in Stockholm, got off in Copenhagen and never re-boarded the flight. Vesna Vulovic survived the highest ever fall without a parachute by a human being after her plane exploded on January 26, 1972 . On the same day as the tragedy of Flight 367, another bomb was set off on a train between Vienna and Zagreb, injuring six people. Market data provided by Factset. [25], In December 2016, Vulovi's friends became concerned for her well-being after she abruptly stopped answering telephone calls. Fortunately, Bruno Honke, the villager who discovered her, had been a medic during World War II and was able to keep her alive until rescuers arrived. "I am like a cat, I have had nine lives," she told the New York Times. Having never been to Denmark, Vulovi considered it yet another opportunity to travel. Vesna Vulovi (Yugoslavia, b. The cause of death was not immediately known. Trapped in the planes tail cone, she plummeted to earth in subfreezing temperatures and landed on a steep, heavily wooded slope near a village. "I saw all the passengers and crew deplane. The cause of death was not immediately known. [4][16], In September 1972, Vulovi expressed willingness to resume working as a flight attendant. All rights reserved. After traveling to London to learn English, she realized her love of traveling. 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FILE-In this Friday, Feb. 15, 2008 file photo, Vesna Vulovic, an ex-air stewardess, and survivor of a fall from 10,000 meters when in 1972 her plane was blown up in mid-fight by a bomb, gestures as she gives an interview to the Associated Press in Belgrade, Serbia. All 27 other passengers and crew. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic). (File Photo) Verna Vulovic cheated death one fine day and lived to tell her horrific tale. A brother appears to have been her only survivor. Vulovic was found dead in her Begrade apartment, The Washington Post and BBC report, citing Serbias state TV. Serbian-born Vesna Vulovi was 22 years old and had been a flight attendant for only eight months before the fateful crash. [3] JAT felt that her presence on flights would attract too much publicity and instead gave her a desk job negotiating freight contracts. The day after these events, Swedish newspaper Kvllsposten received a phone call from a self-described Croatian nationalist, who took credit for bringing down Flight 367. [10] No arrests were ever made. On the basis of her conversations with Honke, Vulovi disputed the assertion that she was discovered in the rear section of the DC-9, as claimed in some reports. "She looked so nice and had just been to London for the day," Vulovi recalled. On January 1972, Vesna Vulovic, who was working as a flight attendant for Jugoslavenski Aerotransport, was . YouTubeVesna Vulovi recovering in the hospital. The accident ruined their lives too.. Vesna Vulovic, was a flight attendant on Yugoslav Airlines DC-9 enroute from Stockholm to Belgrade. Vesna Vulovic's record fall Communist propaganda, say journalists, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Serbia must choose between EU and Russia, says Germany, Serbia bans its first staging of EuroPride rally at late notice, Its a win for us: Serbias cancelled EuroPride exposes ongoing LGBTQ+ struggle, Serbian president Aleksandar Vui wins new term by landslide. "But if nationalist forces in this country prevail, my heart will burst. [1][a] Vulovi's physicians concluded that her history of low blood pressure caused her to pass out quickly after the cabin depressurized and kept her heart from bursting on impact. Of the 28 passengers and crew, Vesna Vulovi was the only survivor. The cause of Flight 367s explosion and subsequent crash has been subject to several conspiracy theories over the years, the most popular of which suggested that the plane was mistakenly shot down by Czechoslovak anti-air missiles at a much lower altitude of 800 metres (2,600 ft). With a history of low blood pressure, Vulovi knew it was unlikely shed pass the medical exam. Vesna Vulovic is pictured recovering in hospital after surviving a plunge from 33,000 feet after her plane exploded in mid-air, Vesna Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade, according to Serbian state TV. The cause of death was not immediately known. Because his parachute was destroyed by the fire, Alkemade opted to jump from the aircraft without one, preferring his death to be quick, rather than being burnt to death. When I told my parents I was living in the Swedish capital, they thought of the drugs and the sex and told me to come home at once." [11] Her injuries resulted in her being temporarily paralyzed below the waist. Serbias state TV said Saturday Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade. In 2008, Ms. Vulovic campaigned for the Democratic Party of President Boris Tadic. She was 66. However, this claim was debunked by flight data obtained from the aircrafts black boxes, which provided exact data regarding the planes altitude, acceleration, direction and speed at the time of the explosion. Part of HuffPost Women. On This Day in 1918: The tallest man ever is born, Prizes dont come any bigger: World's tallest man Sultan Kosen visits British school after competition win, Canadian confirmed as tallest teenager in the world, How to set or break a Guinness World Records title. She was offered a hypnotic injection to help her sleep during the flight back to Yugoslavia, but declined, explaining that she was not afraid of flying because she had no memory of the crash. Although she passed away in December 2016 at the age of 66, Vesna Vulovi will live on forever as an anti-nationalist heroine. Serbia's state TV said today Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade. Ne propustite. "But if nationalist forces in this country prevail, my heart will burst.". In January 1972 she was working as a flight attendant a Yugoslav Airlines DC-9 plane when it blew up over the snowy mountain ranges of what was then Czechoslovakia. The cause of death was not immediately known. However, the airline had confused her for another stewardess with the same first name, thus the plane departed Denmark with 23-year-old Vesna Vulovi on board. The fuselage tumbled through pine branches and into a thick coating of snow, softening the impact and cushioning its descent down the hill, crash investigators said at the time. The world's highest stuff: notes, basketball shots, backflips and more! In Yugoslavia she was celebrated as a national hero. 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It was there that I met up with a friend who suggested we go to Stockholm. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Vulovic was working as a Yugoslav Airlines flight attendant on Jan. 26, 1972, when the Douglas DC-9 airliner she was aboard blew up high above the snowy mountain ranges of Czechoslovakia. 174350084. subject named as. [21] Guinness World Records continues to list her as the record-holder for surviving the highest fall without a parachute. Ms. Vulovic disagreed that luck played any part in helping her to survive the 33,000-foot fall. Having divorced, Vulovi lived alone in her Belgrade apartment on a small pension until her death in 2016. She avoided arrest because the government was concerned about the negative publicity that her imprisonment would bring. [12], Following the crash, Vulovi spent days in a coma, having fractured her skull and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. She said in 2008 that she could only recall greeting passengers before takeoff from the airport in Denmark and then waking up in the hospital with her mother at her side. We'll use the information you provide us to contact you via email about our relevant content, products and services. They concluded that the DC-9 was mistakenly shot down by the Czechoslovak Air Force at an altitude of only 800 meters, or about 2,625 feet. It quickly spiralled to the ground, crashing into a village in what was then Czechoslovakia. date of death. In 1971 she joined JAT Airways, Yugoslavias national flag carrier and the countrys largest airline. She was not scheduled to be on that flight; she had been mixed up with another flight attendant who was also named Vesna (wikipedia: Vesna Vulovi? Vesna Vulovi was born in Belgrade on 3 January 1950. 9 October 2017. place of death. The guards changed shifts every six hours, and no one was allowed in to see her except for her parents and doctors. Vesna Vulovic in her later years (via Twitter) According to another account, on this specific airliner, a terrorist cell known as Ustashe had planted a strong device. According to Serbian state TV, she was found by her friends in her apartmen Other crew members saw him, as did the station manager in Copenhagen. The aircraft broke apart in mid-air before falling 33,330 feet down to the ground in Srbsk Kamenice, Czechoslovakia. [4] By the time she had reached her sixties, Vulovi's deteriorating health prevented her from taking part in annual commemorations at Srbsk Kamenice, which she had previously attended for many years. BELGRADE, Serbia Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian stewardess who miraculously survived a plunge from 10,000 meters after her plane exploded in mid-air in 1972, has died. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. On Jan. 26, 1972, 23-year-old Vulovic was working as a flight attendant aboard a Yugoslav Airlines Douglas DC-9 when the plane ripped apart above the village of Srbska Kamenice. Anyone can read what you share. 1.9K votes, 133 comments. If I were lucky I would never had this accident and my mother and father would be alive. YouTubeThe wreckage of the JAT Flight 367 crash. At least 12 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, The Saturday Six: Dental device controversy, scientist's bug find and more, Trump speaks at CPAC after winning straw poll, 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home, Man charged for alleged involvement in 2 transformer explosions, Nikki Haley slams potential GOP contenders, and Trump and George W. 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Air safety investigators attributed the explosion to a briefcase bomb. [3] In 1985, The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Vulovi as the world record holder for surviving the highest fall without a parachute: 10,160 metres (33,330ft; 6.31mi). Vulovic was working as a flight attendant on January 26, 1972, when her Douglas DC-9 airliner blew up high above the mountain ranges of the former Czechoslovakia.