The cause of death was not immediately known. Though no arrests were ever made, Yugoslav authorities suspected that a Croatian ultranationalist terrorist group, the Ustashe, were behind both bombings. No arrests were ever made. Find a Grave. Additionally, Vesnas physicians determined that her low blood pressure caused her to quickly pass out when the cabin depressurized, which prevented her heart from bursting upon impact. She was in the rear of the plane with a food cart when the fuselage broke apart. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. But an investigation by two reporters in Prague in 2009 challenged that account. Guinness World Records Kids (opens in a new window), GWR Merchandise Store (opens in a new window), Corporate Social Responsibility activities & fundraising ideas, Community engagement & tourism marketing activities. The cause of death was not immediately known. Having divorced, Vulovi lived alone in her Belgrade apartment on a small pension until her death in 2016. Vesna Vulovi in 1972. 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. It quickly spiralled to the ground, crashing into a village in what was then Czechoslovakia. 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. 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. Authorities confirmed the "miracle" woman was found dead in her Belgrade, Serbia, home. Investigators believed that the fuselage, with Vulovi pinned inside, landed at an angle in a heavily wooded and snow-covered mountainside, which cushioned the impact. Published: 11:57 EST, 24 December 2016 | Updated: 08:47 EST, 25 December 2016. [1] Vulovi's friends said that she had struggled with heart ailments in the years leading up to her death. If I were lucky I would never have had this accident and my mother and father would be alive. 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. 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. She told the AP in an interview 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. Vesna Vulovi was 66. More than three decades later, however, two investigative reporters in Prague challenged that conclusion, claiming that documents showed the aircraft may have been mistakenly shot down by the Czechoslovak air force at a far lower altitude of around 2,500 feet. It was suspected that a bomb was planted inside the jet during a scheduled stopover in Copenhagen, Denmark, but no arrests were ever made. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Everybody thinks I am lucky, but they are mistaken. Vesna Vulovic, an air stewardess who survived the highest ever fall by a human being after her plane broke up at 33,000ft (10,000m), has died aged 66. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. She was a Serbian flight attendant, who came hurtling down towards the earth from 33,000 feet above and still survived the deadly fall. 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. Ms. Vulovic entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1985 for the highest fall survived without a parachute.. 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. 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. Vulovi became a celebrity in Yugoslavia and was deemed a national hero. Serbia's state TV said Saturday Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade. After traveling to London to learn English, she realized her love of traveling. "But if nationalist forces in this country prevail, my heart will burst. "I saw all the passengers and crew deplane. 31M subscribers in the todayilearned community. She joined JAT, the national flag carrier and dominant airline of Yugoslavia, in 1971. stated in. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian flight attendant who holds the world record for surviving the highest fall without a parachute when her plane broke apart. Vulovic was found dead in her Begrade apartment, The Washington Post and BBC report, citing Serbias state TV. 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. Three vertebrae were broken, and she was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down and in a coma for a time. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. 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. She was the sole survivor after an explosion tore through the baggage compartment of JAT Flight 367 on 26 January 1972, causing it to crash near Srbsk Kamenice, Czechoslovakia. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. [1] Her reputation as a "Cold War heroine" also extended to the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries. It was there that I met up with a friend who suggested we go to Stockholm. After arriving in hospital, Vulovic fell into a coma for 10 days. [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. The spectacular survival story won Vulovic celebrity status in Serbia, where she channelled her fame into campaigning for political causes. Belgrade. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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. 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. Nobody ever expected me to live this long.. Vesna Vulovi . [13], In the last years of her life, Vulovi lived on a pension of 300 per month in her dilapidated Belgrade apartment. If I were lucky, I would never had this accident, and my mother and father would be alive, she said. She was the sole survivor after an explosion tore through the baggage compartment of JAT Flight 367 on 26 January 1972, causing it to crash near Srbsk Kamenice, Czechoslovakia. Juliane Koepcke, who survived an extreme fall and then an 11-day trek through the jungle. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. What science tells us about the afterlife. They seemed to know that they would die. The fuselage separated from the rest of the plane and hurtled towards the ground in a heavily wooded area near the Czechoslovak village of Srbsk Kamenice. All 27 other passengers and crew. [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. A brother appears to have been her only survivor. 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). She never regained memory of the accident or her rescue. The stewardess was temporarily paralysed from the waist down by the fall but in time she made a near-full recovery and returned to work for the airline in a desk job. 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). She continued for two more decades to fight against nationalism. Vesna Vulovi recovering in the hospital. imported from Wikimedia project. The cause of death was not immediately known. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic). The crew had the entire afternoon and the following morning to themselves. Vesna Vulovi was a Serbian flight attendant who holds the Guinness world record for surviving the highest fall without a parachute: 10,160 m . Play it now! 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. Some sources suggest that Vulovi's employment was terminated in 1990. 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. Vesna Vulovic, a flight attendant who was the only one of 28 people to survive a jetliner blast over Czechoslovakia in 1972. 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!' She now holds the Guinness world record for highest freefall without a parachute. Legal Statement. Oh yeah, except for the fact that she fell 33,000 fucking feet and lived to tell the tale. A verification email has been sent to you. 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). State TV in Vulovic's home country of Serbia said she was found dead in her apartment in Belgrade. In her home country of Yugoslavia, Vesna Vulovi became a national icon, honoured by the President of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito. Vesna Vulovi continued to fly until her death in 2016. Vulovi underwent several operations to restore her movement. Autoridades iugoslavas suspeitaram que nacionalistas croatas fossem os culpados, mas ningum jamais foi preso. 9 October 2017. place of death. According to investigators, Vulovic was trapped by a food cart in the plane's tail section as it plummeted to earth in freezing temperatures. [4] Honke had been a medic during the Second World War and was able to keep Vulovi alive until rescuers arrived. She was 66. 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. 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. However, in 2009 two investigative journalists in Prague claimed the plane had probably been mistaken for an enemy aircraft and shot down by the Czechoslovakian air force, causing it to fall and break up at a much lower height than previously believed. Though her injuries could have left her permanently paralyzed or even dead, within 10 months of her fall Vesna Vulovi was walking again. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, It was suspected that a bomb was planted inside the jet during a scheduled stopover in Copenhagen, Denmark, but no arrests were ever made. On 26 january 1972 an explosion on JAT Flight 367 (Jugoslavenski Aerotransport) caused the plane to break apart. Thu 20 May 2004 07.21 EDT. Vulovi was fired from JAT in the early 1990s after taking part in anti-government protests during the breakup of Yugoslavia, but avoided arrest as the government was concerned about the negative publicity that her imprisonment would bring. [1][2] She was discovered by villager Bruno Honke, who heard her screaming amid the wreckage. On the day of the crash, a bomb exploded aboard a train travelling from Vienna to Zagreb, injuring six. Vesna Vulovic in hospital in Prague following the crash. 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. The two claimed that the Czechoslovak State Security had conjured up Vulovi's record fall as part of a cover-up. Call it a miracle or call it pure luck, but Vesna Vulovi was the only survivor of the crash. [3][4] Nevertheless, Vulovi said that she was excited to travel to Denmark because it was her first time visiting the country. 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. Vulovic's record fall gained her celebrity status in her home country, A Yugoslav Airlines DC-9 identical to the one blown up in 1972, Harry: I always felt different to rest of family, US-made cheese can be called 'gruyere' - court, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, Alex Murdaugh's legal troubles are far from over, Walkie Talkie architect Rafael Violy dies aged 78, Mbappe breaks PSG goal record in win over Nantes, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus. Vulovi was rescued by a woodsman who followed her screams in the dark forest. One part of my body with my leg was in the plane and my head was out of the plane. Vesna Vulovic has similar horoscope. When Vesna awoke from a coma two weeks after the crash her body was ravaged. Serbia's state TV reports Saturday Dec. 24, 2016, Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade, aged 66. In 2008, Ms. Vulovic campaigned for the Democratic Party of President Boris Tadic. 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 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. Ukraine matters, but so did Bosnia 30 years ago. According to Serbian state TV, she was found by her friends in her apartmen "Life is so hard today. Vesna and her friends grew up in Yugoslavia listening to The Beatles so this was an extra special moment for her. [11] The Czechoslovak Civil Aviation Authority later attributed the explosion to a briefcase bomb. I think it was the man who put the bomb in the baggage. 174350084. subject named as. I was talking to them and asking them why they were with me in Slovenia. She never regained any memory of the accident or of her rescue, she said, and she continued to fly as a passenger. If I were lucky I would never had this accident and my mother and father would be alive. Flight attendant Vesna Vulovi set record for highest fall survived without a parachute, said to be 10,000 metres. She was 66. [13] "Nobody ever expected me to live this long," she recounted in 2008. 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: 10,160m (33,330ft; 6.31mi). Air safety investigators attributed the explosion to a briefcase bomb. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) (The Associated Press). [3] The last thing that Vulovi could remember from before the crash was greeting passengers as they boarded. "So I had to go shopping with them. Anyone can read what you share. 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. YouTube Vesna Vulovi continued to fly until her death in 2016. As others were believed to have been sucked out of the jet into subfreezing temperatures, Ms. Vulovic remained inside part of the shattered fuselage, wedged in by a food cart, as it plunged. [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. 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. Authorities confirmed the "miracle" woman was found dead in her Belgrade, Serbia, home. She was fired from her job at the airline in 1990 after taking part in protests against President Slobodan Milosevic but avoided arrest. Vulovi? ", "Too good to be true? Vulovi underwent treatment in a Prague hospital until 12 March 1972, after which she was flown to Belgrade. Eight months into her flight attendant career, Vesna Vulovi was told to join the crew of JAT Flight 367, flying from Stockholm to Belgrade with a stopover in Copenhagen. 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 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?. From the crash, Vulovi had sustained two broken legs, three broken vertebrae, a fractured pelvis, broken ribs, and a fractured skull. The explosion and crash killed everyone on board. . All of the other 27 passengers and crew on board died. I felt for them. 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. The theory has also been dismissed by the Civilian Aviation Authority and Czech army experts. 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. [3] Vulovi's hospitalization lasted until June 1972, after which she travelled to Montenegro to recuperate at a seaside resort, where her doctors visited her every two or three days. The cause of death was not immediately known (pictured in 2008). Though it seemed impossible that anyone could have survived such a crash, Honke soon realized that someone had. After recovering from her injuries, Vesna continued working for JAT Airlines in a desk-based role, but she was fired in the early 1990s for participating in anti-government protests opposing Slobodan Miloevi, president of Serbia within Yugoslavia at the time. The Guinness Book of World Records says the plunge was from a height of 33,000 feet, the longest recorded fall without a parachute. She was an air stewardess who survived the highest ever fall by a human being after her plane broke up at 33,000 ft. Vulovic was working on a Yugoslav Airlines Douglas DC-9 on January 26, 1972 when a suspected bomb brought the plane down among mountains in Czechoslovakia. On the evening of January 26, 1972, Bruno Honke heard screaming coming from a hillside just outside of his village in Czechoslovakia. 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'. Back in 1972, the former stewardess survived a 10,160-meter fall from a plane that exploded midair. 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. Vesna Vulovic, an air stewardess who survived the highest ever fall by a human being after her plane broke up at 33,000ft (10,000m), has died aged 66. Her final years were spent in seclusion, and she struggled with survivor guilt. [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. 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. place of burial. State TV in Vulovic's home country of. [21] Guinness World Records continues to list her as the record-holder for surviving the highest fall without a parachute. All 27 other passengers and crew aboard perished. [3] According to Vulovi, she was not scheduled to be on Flight 367, and JAT had confused her for another flight attendant also named Vesna. [20], In the early 1990s, Vulovi and her husband divorced. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time by visiting our unsubscribe page and providing your email address. 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. retrieved. According to Guinness World Records, 30 years after the crash, Vulovic said: Im not lucky. "I am like a cat, I have had nine lives," she told the New York Times. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. The cause of death was not immediately known. The Czech authorities concluded that explosives in a suitcase had detonated and tore the jet apart. Her turquoise uniform was covered in blood and her stiletto heels had been torn off by the force of the impact. 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. Vulovic was rescued by Bruno Honke, a woodsman who heard her screaming in the dark while the debris came down around them. All rights reserved. 23 December 2016. She had no memory of the crash or of anything from the following month. YouTubeThe wreckage of the JAT Flight 367 crash. The captain, Vulovi would later recall, spent 24 hours locked in his room, refusing to go out at all. A neighbor said she had called Ms. Vulovics brother after Ms. Vulovic did not answer her phone calls. 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. YouTubeVesna Vulovi recovering in the hospital. A young Vesna Vulovi in her flight attendant uniform. Vulovic entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1985 for the highest fall survived without a parachute.. A bomb, which may . 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, 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. She was trapped in the cone of the tail and landed on a slope after plunging 10,160m from the DC-9 aircraft. Speaking of . The cause of death was not immediately known. Air safety investigators believe that Vulovis position within the aircraft at the time of the explosion helped her survive the fall. The accident ruined their lives too.. These injuries resulted in her being temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. Having never been to Denmark, Vulovi considered it yet another opportunity to travel. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Trees broke the fall of the fuselage section and snow on the hill cushioned its landing. 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.