At 1:30 PM on January 26, 1972, the crew met Flight 367 at the Copenhagen Airport and watched as the passengers and previous crew deplaned. [4], Vulovi told reporters that she did not think of her fall every day, but admitted to struggling with survivor's guilt. 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. Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian air stewardess who miraculously survived a plunge from 33,000ft after her plane exploded in mid-air in 1972, has died aged 66. 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. The flight path, between Stockholm in Sweden and Belgrade in Serbia, took the aircraft over Czechoslovakia - now the Czech Republic - and that is where the plane exploded into three pieces. They seemed to know that they would die. Initially paralyzed from the waist down, Vulovic eventually made a near-full recovery and even returned to work for the airline in a desk job. How she managed this isn't entirely clear, but the . Vesna Vulovi was found dead by her friends in her. The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, landed at Copenhagen Airport at 2:30p.m., whereupon Vulovi and her colleagues boarded the plane. 0 references. [2] Driven by her love of the Beatles, Vulovi travelled to the United Kingdom after completing her first year of university, hoping to improve her English-language skills. How She Stared Down Death: Except for surviving countless ass gropings during her time as a stewardess there was really nothing special about this lady. Vesna Vulovi (2008) The cause of Flight 367's 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). Vesna Vulovi was born in Belgrade on 3 January 1950. December 24, 2016 / 7:59 AM It was suspected that a bomb was planted inside the jet during a scheduled stopover in Copenhagen, Denmark, but no arrests were ever made. In her home country of Yugoslavia, Vesna Vulovi became a national icon, honoured by the President of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito. According to Serbian state TV, she was found by her friends in her apartmen The cause of her death was not immediately known. It is extremely probable that the aircraft was shot down by mistake by the Czechoslovak air force and in order to cover it up the secret police conceived the record plunge, Hornung said. The Ustache was a far-right Nazi group in Croatia that was linked to more than two dozen terrorist operations against Yugoslavia following World War II. Vulovic was found dead in her Begrade apartment, The Washington Post and BBC report, citing Serbias state TV. State TV in Vulovic's home country of. Poginuli su svi putnici i lanovi posade, a preivjela je jedino ona. "She looked so nice and had just been to London for the day," Vulovi recalled. From the crash, Vulovi had sustained two broken legs, three broken vertebrae, a fractured pelvis, broken ribs, and a fractured skull. 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). The best indicator is the annual horoscope. landed on a snowy, tree-covered hillside, claiming that documents showed the aircraft may have been mistakenly shot down. [19] Around the same time,[e] Vulovi was fired from JAT for speaking out against Serbian statesman Slobodan Miloevi and taking part in anti-government protests. Call it a miracle or call it pure luck, but Vesna Vulovi was the only survivor of the crash. "The man who found me told me that I was in the middle part of the plane," she said. Everyone except Vesna, who survived a fall of 33,333 feet (10,160 metres; 6.31 miles). She was a Serbian flight attendant, who came hurtling down towards the earth from 33,000 feet above and still survived the deadly fall. 1 reference. With a history of low blood pressure, Vulovi knew it was unlikely shed pass the medical exam. YouTubeThe same type of aircraft that Vesna Vulovi was on before her fall. Vesna Vulovic was a stewardess back in the '70s working on a Serbian airline. She had no memory of the crash or of anything from the following month. 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. She avoided arrest because the government was concerned about the negative publicity that her imprisonment would bring. "People always want to sit next to me on the plane," she said. On January 1972, Vesna Vulovic, who was working as a flight attendant for Jugoslavenski Aerotransport, was . 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. Having never been to Denmark, Vulovi considered it yet another opportunity to travel. When Vesna awoke from a coma two weeks after the crash her body was ravaged. [12], Following the crash, Vulovi spent days in a coma, having fractured her skull and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Everybody thinks I am lucky, but they are mistaken. During an interview in 2008 that she could only recall greeting passengers before takeoff from the airport in Denmarkand then waking up in the hospital with her mother at her side. Her cause of death was not immediately known. BELGRADE, Serbia -- Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian stewardess who miraculously survived a plunge from 33,000 feet after her plane exploded in mid-air in 1972, has died. "I saw all the passengers and crew deplane. . "I am like a cat, I have had nine lives," she told the New York Times. Vesna Vulovic, a flight attendant who alone, and miraculously, survived the midair explosion of a jetliner over Czechoslovakia in 1972 after plummeting thousands of feet onto a snowy hill, was reported dead on Saturday in Belgrade. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Katie Serena is a New York City-based writer and a staff writer at All That's Interesting. You learn something new every day; what did you learn today? "But if nationalist forces in this country prevail, my heart will burst.". [10] The Czech Civil Aviation Authority dismissed the journalists' claim, calling it a conspiracy theory. Vulovi later campaigned on behalf of the Democratic Party, advocating for Serbia's entry into the European Union. Vesna Vulovic is found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade, Serbia The cause of death was not immediately known, according to Serbian state TV She became an instant national heroine . Vulovi?, 22 years old at the time, was a flight attendant on board. Her physicians believe her low blood pressure kept her heart from bursting on impact with the mountainside. "I was found with my head down and my colleague on top of me. While many other passengers were sucked out of the plane after the explosion, Vulovi became pinned by the cart. 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. She was honored by Josip Tito, Yugoslavias Communist leader, and celebrated as a national hero. ", "Too good to be true? The captain, Vulovi would later recall, spent 24 hours locked in his room, refusing to go out at all. 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. Authorities confirmed the "miracle" woman was found dead in her Belgrade, Serbia, home. 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." She never regained memory of the accident or her rescue. It is certain that the other passengers and crewmembers had similar horoscopes, as well. Vesna Vulovic in hospital in Prague following the crash. Although we always love to see records being broken, this one is an exception and we hope no one ever experiences a fall like Vesna's again. Vulovis doctors concurred with the air investigators and added their own conclusions. Vulovic entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1985 for the highest fall survived without a parachute.. Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian flight attendant who survived a 10,000-meter plunge after her plane exploded mid-air in 1972, has died at the age of 66. . The cause of death was not immediately known. Though she realized that JAT had confused her with another attendant named Vesna, she agreed to join anyway. A Serbian woman who survived what was said to be a 10,000-metre (33,000ft) fall after a plane exploded in mid-air in 1972 has died aged 66. In Belgrade, Vulovi's hospital room was placed under 24-hour police protection because authorities feared that the perpetrators of the bombing would wish to kill her. 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. In 2008, Ms. Vulovic campaigned for the Democratic Party of President Boris Tadic. The world's highest stuff: notes, basketball shots, backflips and more! BREAKING NEWS: Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt dies in Zara and Mike Tindall reveal they have lost their baby after Pavement where disabled woman gestured at cyclist before fatal crash, Dozens stuck in car park as staff refuses to open gate for woman, Incredible footage of Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russians in Bakhmut, Pro-Ukrainian drone lands on Russian spy planes exposing location, 'Buster is next!' 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. According to the official accident report, an explosion tore the DC-9 she was working . According to Guinness World Records, 30 years after the crash, Vulovic said: Im not lucky. 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. Market data provided by Factset. [4], Vulovi's parents both died within a few years of the crash. At first, she could only move her left leg, and one month thereafter, she was able to move her right. Serbian radio reported her death without giving a cause. Speaking of . I was talking to them and asking them why they were with me in Slovenia. Foi a nica a sobreviver, depois que uma bomba explodiu no compartimento de bagagem do voo JAT 367 em 26 de janeiro de 1972, causando um acidente prximo a Srbsk Kamenice, na Checoslovquia. Vesna Vulovi in 1972. "But if nationalist forces in this country prevail, my heart will burst. [11] The Czechoslovak Civil Aviation Authority later attributed the explosion to a briefcase bomb. It was not only me that noticed him either. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) (The Associated Press). [13][23] Vulovi said that she was aware of the journalists' claims, but stated that because she had no memory of the event, she could not confirm or deny the allegations. Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian stewardess who miraculously survived a plunge from 33,000 feet after her plane exploded in mid-air in 1972, died last week. In the morning, during breakfast, the co-pilot was talking about his son and daughter as if nobody else had a son or daughter. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. [3] JAT felt that her presence on flights would attract too much publicity and instead gave her a desk job negotiating freight contracts. "Everybody wanted to buy something for his or her family," she recalled. Part of HuffPost Women. FacebookTwitterYouTubeInstagramLinkedInSnapchatPinterestTiktok, Registered Office: Ground Floor, The Rookery, 2 Dyott Street, London, WC1A 1DE, United Kingdom, Otto - Longest human tunnel travelled through by a skateboarding dog, Ashrita Furman - Most Guinness World Records titles held. The crew had the entire afternoon and the following morning to themselves. Honke, the man who found Vulovi alive after the crash, had a granddaughter born six weeks after her fall; she was named Vesna in Vulovi's honour. When the cabin depressurized, the passengers and other flight crew were blown out of the aircraft and fell to their deaths. She had no memory of the flight or her descent. State TV in Vulovic's home country of Serbia said she was found dead in her apartment in Belgrade. She now holds the Guinness world record for highest freefall without a parachute. Air safety investigators attributed the explosion to a briefcase bomb. She continued her work as a pro-democracy activist until the Socialist Party of Serbia was ousted from power during the Bulldozer Revolution of October 2000. Trapped in the planes tail cone, she plummeted to earth in sub-freezing temperatures and landed on a steep, heavily wooded slope near a village. [3][16] She only occasionally granted interviews and declined numerous requests, most notably from Oprah Winfrey and the BBC,[24] saying that she was "tired" of discussing her fall. One man seemed terribly annoyed. [6] She received the recognition at a London gala from musician Paul McCartney. A song was even written about her, titled "Vesna stjuardesa" ("Vesna the Stewardess"), by Serbian-folk-singer Miroslav Ili. Read about our approach to external linking. Serbian-born Vesna Vulovi was 22 years old and had been a flight attendant for only eight months before the fateful crash. Vesna Vulovic's Ascendant in her annual horoscope for 1971/1972 is at the eighteenth degree of Gemini. In total, 128 terror attacks were carried out by Croatian nationalists against Yugoslavia between 1962 and 1982. Vulovic was rescued by Bruno Honke, a woodsman who heard her screaming in the dark while the debris came down around them. Vesna, a Belgrade native, entered the Guinness World Records book after surviving the highest ever fall without a parachute. She was 66. Doctors had never expected her to live that long, and indeed from the moment she awoke, she surprised them all. [3] She later campaigned on behalf of the Democratic Party and advocated for Serbia's entry into the European Union, which she believed would bring economic prosperity. In 1985 Vulovi entered the Guinness Book of Records for the highest fall survived without a parachute. [b] She also suffered two broken legs and three broken vertebrae, one of which was crushed completely. 50 years on, this remains the highest fall survived without a parachute ever. [18] Vulovi continued to fly regularly, stating that other passengers were surprised to see her on flights and wanted to sit next to her. [4] Vulovi attributed her recovery to her "Serbian stubbornness" and "a childhood diet that included chocolate, spinach, and fish oil". The cause of death was not immediately known. Im not lucky, she told Green Light. Vesna Vulovic has similar horoscope. Vulovic was 23 and working as a Yugoslav Airlines hostess on Jan. 26, 1972, when the Douglas DC-9 airliner she was aboard blew up high above the snowy mountain ranges of Czechoslovakia. Ms. Vulovic was the only one of 28 passengers and crew members to survive but just barely. The cause of death was not immediately known. Upon returning to Belgrade, Vulovi decided to become a flight attendant after seeing one of her friends in a flight attendant's uniform. "I thought, 'Why shouldn't I be an air hostess? Vesna Vulovic, a flight attendant who alone, and miraculously, survived the midair explosion of a jetliner over Czechoslovakia in 1972 after plummeting thousands of feet onto a snowy hill, was. Vulovi was rescued by a woodsman who followed her screams in the dark forest. The accident ruined their lives, too. When she found out a friend was becoming a flight attendant and traveling the world, she jumped at the chance. Vesna Vulovi continued to fly until her death in 2016. Ne propustite. [19] Vulovi continued taking part in anti-government demonstrations throughout the 1990s. Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian woman who in 1972 survived a reported six-mile fall after the plane she was on exploded over Czechoslovakia, died last week at age 66, according to several media reports. I looked up to the sky and saw bodies, suitcases, chunks of the plane falling down.. She was 66. She was rushed to a hospital, where she fell into a coma for 10 days. 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. Trapped in the plane's tail cone, she plummeted to earth in sub-freezing temperatures and landed on a steep, heavily wooded slope near a village. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? The guards changed shifts every six hours, and no one was allowed in to see her except for her parents and doctors. The fall gained Vulovic a place in the Guinness Book of Records of 1985 for the highest fall survived without a parachute. What makes a Guinness World Records title? It quickly spiralled to the ground, crashing into a village in what was then Czechoslovakia. It crash landed in the thick snow at a favourable angle, which is most likely what saved Vesnas life. Ms Vulovic was working on board a Yugoslav Airlines flight that crashed in 1972. Vesna Vulovic, an ex-air stewardess who survived a 10 kilometre fall to Earth, is seen in a 2008 file photo. [3] Vulovi's parents had to sell both of their cars to pay for her treatment. Show more Show. [20], In the early 1990s, Vulovi and her husband divorced. Find a Grave memorial ID. 23 December 2016. Serbia's state TV said Saturday Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade. Her turquoise uniform was covered in blood and her stiletto heels had been torn off by the force of the impact. All rights reserved. It was suspected that a bomb was planted inside the jet during a stopover in Copenhagen, Denmark, but nothing was ever proven and no arrests were made. Ms. Vulovic was working as a. A bomb, which may . Vesna passed away at 66 in 2016 (Source: guinnessworldrecords.com) Fifty years ago, a 23-year-old woman fell 33,333 feet from the sky and survived, making it to the Guinness World Record (GWR) for 'Highest fall survived without parachute'. Vesna Vulovi recovering in the hospital. An instant national heroine, she went on to put her celebrity at the service of political causes, protesting Slobodan Milosevics rule in the 1990s and later campaigning for liberal forces in elections. Belgrade New Cemetery. When Miloevi and his Socialist Party of Serbia were ousted in the Bulldozer Revolution of October 2000, Vulovi was among several celebrities who took to the balcony of Belgrade's city hall to make victory addresses. Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian woman who in 1972 survived a reported six-mile fall after the plane she was on exploded over Czechoslovakia, died last week at age 66, according to several media reports. She was 66. All 28 passengers and crew aboard perished, apart fromVulovic, who would enter the Guinness Book of Records for 'the highest fall survived without a parachute'.