2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The cause of death was not immediately known. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Her turquoise uniform was covered in blood and her stiletto heels had been torn off by the force of the impact. At first, she could only move her left leg, and one month thereafter, she was able to move her right. Vesna Vulovi was born in Belgrade on 3 January 1950. Vesna Vulovi was 66. Vulovi later campaigned on behalf of the Democratic Party, advocating for Serbia's entry into the European Union. December 24, 2016, 2:49 AM BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian stewardess who miraculously survived a plunge from 10,000 meters (33,000 feet) after her plane exploded in mid-air in. Vesna Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade, according to Serbian state TV. Ms. Vulovic returned to work at Yugoslav Airlines later in 1972, but to an office job in which she negotiated freight contracts, not as a flight attendant. Play it now! She was rushed to a hospital, where she fell into a coma for 10 days. [22] Hornung-Andersen conceded that the pair's evidence was only circumstantial. She was fired from her job at the airline in 1990 after taking part in protests against President Slobodan Milosevic but avoided arrest. A week after Anthony Veasna So, an emerging author on the cusp of success, died unexpectedly at age 28, a far-flung but tightknit literary community is in shock and mourning over what might have . The cause of death was not immediately known. 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." State TV in Vulovic's home country of. Vesna [] Do not sell or share my personal information. Ms. Vulovic was working as a. No arrests were ever made. She was 66. Although Vesna survived, she sustained extremely serious injuries and spent the following days in a coma. The cause of death was not immediately known. [b] She also suffered two broken legs and three broken vertebrae, one of which was crushed completely. With a history of low blood pressure, Vulovi knew it was unlikely shed pass the medical exam. However, her dream almost didnt come true. ", China looks at reforms to deepen Xi's control, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Inside the enclave surrounded by pro-Russia forces, 'The nurses wanted me to feel guilty about my abortion, From Afghan TV fame to a US factory floor. [12], Following the crash, Vulovi spent days in a coma, having fractured her skull and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. She was rushed to a hospital, where she fell into a coma for 10 days. Trees broke the fall of the fuselage section and snow on the hill cushioned its landing. You learn something new every day; what did you learn today? They claimed that the very thing that almost kept Vulovi from being a flight attendant is what ultimately saved her life. Nobody ever expected me to live this long.. Ms. Vulovic was the only one of 28 passengers and crew members to survive but just barely. [4] Honke had been a medic during the Second World War and was able to keep Vulovi alive until rescuers arrived. The spectacular survival story won Vulovic celebrity status in Serbia, where she channelled her fame into campaigning for political causes. Air safety investigators attributed the explosion to a briefcase bomb. 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. No sufficient evidence against the official crash report exists for Vesna's record to be disqualified. "I was broken, and the doctors put me back together again," she told the New York Times in 2008. "[3], Flight 367 departed from Copenhagen Airport at 3:15p.m. At 4:01p.m., an explosion tore through the DC-9's baggage compartment. In response to the attack, airport security measures were tightened in the country. On 26 january 1972 an explosion on JAT Flight 367 (Jugoslavenski Aerotransport) caused the plane to break apart. It was suspected that a bomb was planted inside the jet during a scheduled stopover in Copenhagen, Denmark, but no arrests were ever made. She avoided arrest because the government was concerned about the negative publicity that her imprisonment would bring. Ms. Vulovic entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1985 for the highest fall survived without a parachute.. Vulovi became a celebrity in Yugoslavia and was deemed a national hero. He managed to escape with a broken arm, minor scratches and bruises. "I thought, 'Why shouldn't I be an air hostess? The cause of death was not immediately known. She was trapped in the cone of the tail and landed on a slope after plunging 10,160m from the DC-9 aircraft. As for people who have described her as lucky, Vulovic said they are mistaken. 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. 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. Vulovic was the only survivor of the January 26, 1972 bomb blast over the Czech town of Srbska Kamenice which killed 23 passengers and five crew. In her home country of Yugoslavia, Vesna Vulovi became a national icon, honoured by the President of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito. 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. 1 reference. In 1985 Vulovi entered the Guinness Book of Records for the highest fall survived without a parachute. Despite her willingness to resume work as a flight attendant, Jat Airways (JAT) gave her a desk job negotiating freight contracts, feeling her presence on flights would attract too much publicity. Her final years were spent in seclusion, and she struggled with survivor guilt. [3] The last thing that Vulovi could remember from before the crash was greeting passengers as they boarded. [4] "Whenever I think of the accident, I have a prevailing, grave feeling of guilt for surviving it and I cry Then I think maybe I should not have survived at all. 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. Her remarkable survival half a century ago means that Flight 367 is always likely to attract study, although the precise. [3] Vulovi's parents had to sell both of their cars to pay for her treatment. According to Serbian state TV, she was found by her friends in her apartmen In 1972, Vesna Vulovic, a cabin attendant, survived a 10,160m fall when the DC-9 she was in . These injuries resulted in her being temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. Vesna Vulovi . The world's highest stuff: notes, basketball shots, backflips and more! She never regained any memory of the accident or of her rescue, she said, and she continued to fly as a passenger. The comments below have not been moderated. After being taken to a hospital in Prague, Vesna Vulovi spent several days in a coma recovering. [11] The Czechoslovak Civil Aviation Authority later attributed the explosion to a briefcase bomb. All rights reserved. Her name was Vesna Vulovi and though even she didnt know it yet, she had just survived an epic fall of 33,330 feet in what is one of the strangest world records: surviving the highest fall without a parachute. Vesna was found screaming inside the wreckage by Bruno Honke, a local villager and former World War 2 medic who was able to administer vital first aid before rescuers arrived. Serbias state TV said Saturday Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade. Show more Show. The same type of aircraft that Vesna Vulovi was on before her fall. 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. 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. 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. 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. Though it seemed impossible that anyone could have survived such a crash, Honke soon realized that someone had. She was in the rear of the plane with a food cart when the fuselage broke apart. Upon returning to Belgrade, Vulovi decided to become a flight attendant after seeing one of her friends in a flight attendant's uniform. [17] After the crash, Vulovi received a decoration from Yugoslav President Josip Tito, and the Serbian folk singer Miroslav Ili recorded a song titled "Vesna stjuardesa" ("Vesna the Stewardess"). She had total amnesia from the hour preceding her fall until one month afterwards. Having divorced, Vulovi lived alone in her Belgrade apartment on a small pension until her death in 2016. Everybody thinks I am lucky, but they are mistaken. YouTube Vesna Vulovi continued to fly until her death in 2016. [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). All 27 other passengers and crew aboard perished. Vulovi's parents told her that she first learned of the crash about two weeks after it occurred. In 1971 she joined JAT Airways, Yugoslavias national flag carrier and the countrys largest airline. The cause of death was not known. retrieved. The accident ruined their lives, too. 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. 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. Vulovi was rescued by a woodsman who followed her screams in the dark forest. Vulovic was 23 and working as a Yugoslav. If I were lucky I would never had this accident and my mother and father would be alive. Just 46 minutes into the fight, disaster struck. She remained an avid flyer and died in 2016 at the age of 66. 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. [5] "As it was late, we were in the terminal and saw it park," Vulovi said. She went on to put her celebrity at the service of political causes, protesting against Slobodan Miloevis rule in the 1990s and later campaigning for liberal forces in elections. [6] She received the recognition at a London gala from musician Paul McCartney. [4], Vulovi told reporters that she did not think of her fall every day, but admitted to struggling with survivor's guilt. [4], Vulovi's parents both died within a few years of the crash. Vesna Vulovi was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade, Serbian state television reported. Vesna Vulovi recovering in the hospital. Ne propustite. Vesna Vulovic. As fate would have it, Vesna was not actually scheduled to be working on Flight 367, as she revealed in a 2002 interview with Green Light. A catering trolley was pinned against my spine and kept me in the plane.". [10] No arrests were ever made. Flight attendant Vesna Vulovi set record for highest fall survived without a parachute, said to be 10,000 metres. She seems not to have lived the life of a celebrity at all and to have kept mostly to herself, Eric Gordy, a cultural and political sociologist at University College London who studies the former Yugoslavia, said in a phone interview. On January 1972, Vesna Vulovic, who was working as a flight attendant for Jugoslavenski Aerotransport, was . The first thing I remember is seeing my parents in the hospital, she said in 2002 in an online interview with Green Light Limited, a security training firm. Credit: Alamy. 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. If I were lucky I would never have had this accident and my mother and father would be alive. Find a Grave. Vulovic was found dead in her Begrade apartment, The Washington Post and BBC report, citing Serbias state TV. [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. The Czech authorities concluded that explosives in a suitcase had detonated and tore the jet apart. The cause of her death was not immediately known. 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. State TV in Vulovic's home country of. Serbian-born Vesna Vulovi was 22 years old and had been a flight attendant for only eight months before the fateful crash. The Serbian flight attendant holds the Guinness record for highest fall survived without a parachute. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Three vertebrae were broken, and she was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down and in a coma for a time. [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. Picture: AP . Find a Grave memorial ID. 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. Having never been to Denmark, Vulovi considered it yet another opportunity to travel. A neighbor said she had called Ms. Vulovics brother after Ms. Vulovic did not answer her phone calls. Submit The cause of death was not immediately known. The cause of death was not immediately known. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The fuselage tumbled through pine branches and into a thick coating of snow, softening the impact and cushioning its descent down the hill. Vesna Vulovic, an ex-air stewardess who survived a 10 kilometre fall to Earth, is seen in a 2008 file photo. Vulovi underwent treatment in a Prague hospital until 12 March 1972, after which she was flown to Belgrade. 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. Ms Vulovic was working on board a Yugoslav Airlines flight that crashed in 1972. Maybe I was born in the wrong place. Vulovic holds the Guinness World Record for highest fall without a parachute a miraculous 33,333-foot plunge to Earth. In Yugoslavia she was celebrated as a national hero. 1 reference. [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. place of burial. What makes a Guinness World Records title? [4][16], In September 1972, Vulovi expressed willingness to resume working as a flight attendant. 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. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. She had a fractured skull, two crushed vertebrae and a broken pelvis, ribs and legs. According to the official accident report, an explosion tore the DC-9 she was working . Trapped in the planes tail, Vulovi plummeted to earth in sub-zero temperatures and landed on a steep, heavily wooded slope near a village. They seemed to know that they would die. She decided to become a flight attendant, she said, when she saw a friend in her Yugoslav Airlines uniform and thought, Why shouldnt I be an air hostess?. Although she passed away in December 2016 at the age of 66, Vesna Vulovi will live on forever as an anti-nationalist heroine. [3][4] Nevertheless, Vulovi said that she was excited to travel to Denmark because it was her first time visiting the country. Vesnas miraculous survival was attributed to her being pinned down by a food cart in the tail end of the fuselage (the aircrafts main body). Her recovery period was actually relatively short and incredibly successful a fact she attributes to a childhood diet that included chocolate, spinach, and fish oil.. She was the sole survivor of the explosion of JAT Flight 367 near Srbska Kamenice, Czechoslovakia on . Vulovic was rescued by a woodsman who followed her screams in the dark forest. In the tragedy on . 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. "I saw all the passengers and crew deplane. Vesna Vulovi (Abjad Kiril Serbia: ; diucapkan [esna ulit]; 3 Januari 1950 - 23 Desember 2016) adalah seorang pramugari asal Serbia.Ia memecahkan rekor dunia Guinness karena berhasil selamat dari terjun tanpa parasut dengan ketinggian 10.160 meter. It crash landed in the thick snow at a favourable angle, which is most likely what saved Vesnas life. [3][6], Air safety investigators attributed Vulovi's survival to her being trapped by a food cart in the DC-9's fuselage as it broke away from the rest of the aircraft and plummeted towards the ground. The cause of death was not immediately known. She now holds the Guinness world record for highest freefall without a parachute. "Nobody ever expected me to live this long.". JAT Flight 367 had two scheduled stopovers in between Stockholm and Belgrade. The Associated Press contributed to this report. The theory has also been dismissed by the Civilian Aviation Authority and Czech army experts. 2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. [1] She was soon made an honorary citizen of Srbsk Kamenice. On the 35th anniversary of the disaster, in 2007, Zdenko Kubik, a firefighter, recalled: I heard a sound like that of military jets landing. All 28 passengers and crew aboard perished, apart from Vulovic (left), who would enter the Guinness Book of Records for her fall (pictured right with David Frost). 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). She was 66. Of the 28 passengers and crew, Vesna Vulovi was the only survivor. [7] Vulovi said that she was aware of her low blood pressure before applying to become a flight attendant and knew that it would result in her failing her medical examination, but she drank an excessive amount of coffee beforehand and was accepted. 1.9K votes, 133 comments. The crew had the entire afternoon and the following morning to themselves. Serbias state TV said Saturday that Ms. Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade. Ms. Vulovic was rescued by a woodsman who followed her screams in the dark forest. A brother appears to have been her only survivor. Serbia's state TV said Saturday. 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. "The man who found me told me that I was in the middle part of the plane," she said. The Guinness World Record holder for the "highest fall survived without a parachute," Vesna Vulovic, has been found dead in her apartment in Serbia. WHAT MAKES A GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS TITLE? [20] They also hypothesized that the call received by Kvllsposten, claiming responsibility for the aircraft's downing, was a hoax. Stjuardesa Vesna Vulovi jedina je osoba koja je bez padobrana preivjela pad s 10.000 metara Na dananji dan 1972. godine stjuardesa Vesna Vulovi bila je jedini preivjeli putnik nakon eksplozije bombe u avionu JAT DC-9" na liniji Kopenhagen-Beograd i pada s oko 10.000 metara. Woman Survived 33,333 Feet Fall From Airplane (Vesna Vulovic Guinness World Records) 21,658 views Jan 8, 2021 Woman Survived 33,333 Feet Fall From Airplane (Vesna Vulovic Guinness World. While many other passengers were sucked out of the plane after the explosion, Vulovi became pinned by the cart. Officials suspected that JAT Yugoslav Flight 364 was brought down by explosives planted in a suitcase by a Croatian terrorist group. List of sole survivors of aviation accidents or incidents, "Vesna Vulovic, Flight Attendant Who Survived Jetliner Blast, Dies at 66", "Vesna Vulovic, air stewardess who survived a plane crash obituary", "Vesna Vulovic: How to survive a bombing at 33,000 feet", "Serbia's Most Famous Survivor Fears That Recent History Will Repeat Itself", "Vesna Vulovic: Flight Attendant Who Survived Mid-Air Explosion and 33,000-foot Fall, Dies at 66", "Njemaki mediji o sluaju JAT 1972: Napad hrvatske emigracije je plod mate tajnih slubi", "Vesna Vulovic, stewardess who survived 33,000ft fall, dies", "Official Abstract of the Final Report (English)", "Highest fall survived without parachute", "Bask in the Bracing Unsentimentality of Vesna Vulovic, the Only Person to Survive a 1972 Plane Crash", "Fate or fluke? Vesna and her friends grew up in Yugoslavia listening to The Beatles so this was an extra special moment for her. They didnt want me because they didnt want so much publicity about the accident, she told Green Light.