She was in the rear of the plane with a food cart when the fuselage broke apart. online interview with Green Light Limited. No arrests were ever made. 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. languages spoken, written or signed. ( , 3. 1950 23. 2016 [1]) 10.160 . 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. But it was no easy feat. She had no memory of the incident and had no qualms about flying in the aftermath of the crash. It was suspected that a bomb was planted inside the jet during a scheduled stopover in Copenhagen, Denmark, but no arrests were ever made. 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. She had no memory of the flight or her descent. "If you can survive what I survived," she said, "you can survive anything. Regardless of the scenario, Vulovic survived the ordeal, despite suffering a crushed skull, snapped legs and three broken vertebrae. Nobody ever expected me to live this long.. 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. The two claimed that the Czechoslovak State Security had conjured up Vulovi's record fall as part of a cover-up. What science tells us about the afterlife. [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. 'I felt different to the rest of my family - and my mum felt the same': Prince Harry opens up on his 'broken home' upbringing saying parents rowing in front of children 'is not a good idea' - but FAILS to mention William once in 90min toxic trauma chat, Maryland mayor arrested on 56 child pornography charges called Pete Buttigieg his 'buddy' and 'mentor' for helping him navigate politics as a gay man - and visited the White House at least six times, 'What does this mean!?' 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. Her Plane Exploded 33,000 Feet In The Air And Somehow Vesna Vulovi Survived The Fall. The cause of death was not immediately known. date of death. How she managed this isn't entirely clear, but the . According to Serbian state TV, she was found by her friends in her apartmen The Serbian flight attendant holds the Guinness record for highest fall survived without a parachute. 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. Air crash sole survivors", "Kako je Vesna Vulovi preivela avionsku nesreu nad ehoslovakom '72: udo nije bila prava re", "Woman Who Fell to Earth: Was Air Crash Survivor's Record Just Propaganda? The cause of death was not immediately known. As part of the Guinness World Records Hall of Fame ceremony in 1985, Paul McCartney presented Vesna with a certificate and medal for achieving the highest fall survived without a parachute. BELGRADE, Serbia Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian stewardess who miraculously survived a plunge from 33,000 feet after her plane exploded in midair in 1972, has died. 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. DR ELLIE CANNON: My breast has not got lumps but it's itchy, should I be concerned about cancer at age 72? [3], The secondary crew of JAT Flight 367, flying from Stockholm to Belgrade with stopovers in Copenhagen and Zagreb, arrived in Denmark on the morning of 25 January 1972. place of burial. On 23 December, locksmiths discovered her body in her apartment after forcing open the door. On January 1972, Vesna Vulovic, who was working as a flight attendant for Jugoslavenski Aerotransport, was . [12], Following the crash, Vulovi spent days in a coma, having fractured her skull and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Of the 28 passengers and crew, Vesna Vulovi was the only survivor. [4], Vulovi told reporters that she did not think of her fall every day, but admitted to struggling with survivor's guilt. Upon returning to Belgrade, Vulovi decided to become a flight attendant after seeing one of her friends in a flight attendant's uniform. I felt for them. She continued to fly occasionally, she said, without any fear. About 18 years after she returned to work, she said, the airline forced her to retire for trying to persuade co-workers not to vote for Slobodan Milosevic, the Serbian nationalist and president known as the Butcher of the Balkans. She demonstrated in the streets against Mr. Milosevic, who died in jail before a verdict was reached in his trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. 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. 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 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. A young Vesna Vulovi in her flight attendant uniform. All 27 other passengers and crew aboard perished. 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. 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. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic). Her physicians believe her low blood pressure kept her heart from bursting on impact with the mountainside. Based on secret documents mainly from the Czech civil aviation authority, unearthed after more than a year of research, Peter Hornung and Pavel Theiner said they did not believe the aircraft had been blown up by Croatian nationalists as the Yugoslav government, backed by Czechoslovakian authorities, claimed. English Wikipedia. Do you know this baby? The cause of death was not immediately known. Vulovi's parents told her that she first learned of the crash about two weeks after it occurred. Read about our approach to external linking. The spectacular survival story won Vulovic celebrity status in Serbia, where she channelled her fame into campaigning for political causes. 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. [4], Vulovi's parents both died within a few years of the crash. 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). "Life is so hard today. [10] The Czech Civil Aviation Authority dismissed the journalists' claim, calling it a conspiracy theory. [25], In December 2016, Vulovi's friends became concerned for her well-being after she abruptly stopped answering telephone calls. In 1972, Vesna Vulovic, a flight attendant, fell 33,000 feet in an aircraft explosion and survived. The cause of death was not immediately known. Mind-bending optical illusion that makes your brain IMAGINE a color that doesn't exist leaves the internet baffled, Kellyanne Conway's soon-to-be ex-husband George looks despondent without his wedding ring after couple announced they are divorcing, New heartbreak for Liz Hurley, 57, as third former partner dies: Actor Tom Sizemore, 61, suffers fatal brain aneurysm a year after her ex-fiance Shane Warne's death from a heart attack at 52 - while father to her son Damian lost his life to suicide in 2020, All 28 aboard died apart from Vulovic, who would break record for highest fall. Vesna Vulovic's Ascendant in her annual horoscope for 1971/1972 is at the eighteenth degree of Gemini. Vesna Vulovic, stewardess who survived 30,000ft fall, dies https://t.co/JbHMTGdeuM. Due to her amnesia, Vesna Vulovi had no memory of the crash or the explosion and was left with the same love of flying and sense of adventure she had beforehand. BEOGRAD - Vesna Vulovi, stjuardesa nekadanjeg jugoslovenskog JAT za koju je uo itav svet poto je preivela avionsku nesreu i pad sa 10.000 metara, danas je sahranjena na Novom groblju u prisustvu brata i ezdesetak prijatelja i poznanika. 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. The Guinness Book of World Records says the plunge was from a height of 33,000 feet, the longest recorded fall without a parachute. According to the Czechoslovak Civil Aviation Authority, the explosion was caused by a briefcase bomb placed in the aircrafts baggage compartment. They never reached the second stopover in Zagreb, Croatia. 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. Doctors had never expected her to live that long, and indeed from the moment she awoke, she surprised them all. I could go to London once a month'." (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) (The Associated Press). 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. It was suspected that a bomb was planted inside the jet during a scheduled stopover in Copenhagen, Denmark, but no arrests were ever made. 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. She continued for two more decades to fight against nationalism. Trees broke the fall of the fuselage section and snow on the hill cushioned its landing. Market data provided by Factset. Ms. Vulovic in a picture released by the airline. Vulovic was 23 and working as a Yugoslav Airlines hostess on 26 January, 1972, when the Douglas DC-9 airliner she was aboard blew up high above the snowy mountain ranges of Czechoslovakia. Ms. Vulovic disagreed that luck played any part in helping her to survive the 33,000-foot fall. The same type of aircraft that Vesna Vulovi was on before her fall. Ms. Vulovic was rescued by a woodsman who followed her screams in the dark forest. The explosion was determined to be from a briefcase bomb planted by the Ustae a Croatian separatist group seeking independence from Yugoslavia. 1 Vesna Vulovic: The Stewardess Who Survived a terrorist attack at 33,000 feet. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Vesna Vulovic in hospital in Prague following the crash. I looked up to the sky and saw bodies, suitcases, chunks of the plane falling down.. While even short drops can be lethal, people have survived horrendous falls. She had a fractured skull, two crushed vertebrae and she had broken her pelvis, several ribs and both legs. One man seemed terribly annoyed. Vesna Vulovic - stewardess who survived 33,000ft fall, dies TODAY I AM BRINGING YOU A NEW VIDEO -------------AND UPLOAD A VIDEO ON YOUTUBE FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT AND INFORMATION. Vesna Vulovic, who survived a midair explosion in 1972, has died at the age of 66. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. "Nobody ever expected me to live this long.". The accident ruined their lives too.. He managed to escape with a broken arm, minor scratches and bruises. [4][20] In response to her activism, pro-Miloevi tabloids launched a smear campaign against her, claiming that Flight 367 had been shot down by a Czechoslovak surface-to-air missile and that she had fallen from a lesser height than previously believed. Vesna Vulovic, an ex-air stewardess who survived a 10 kilometre fall to Earth, is seen in a 2008 file photo. On the day of the crash, a bomb exploded aboard a train travelling from Vienna to Zagreb, injuring six. [15] Within ten months of her fall, Vulovi had regained the ability to walk, but limped for the rest of her life, her spine permanently twisted. Thu 20 May 2004 07.21 EDT.