A rare color shot of YU-AHT, the DC9-32 lost on January 26, 1972.. The dangerous bit in aviation isnt the flying, its the landing. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. 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 Flight took off from Copenhagen at 15:15. Vesna was lying half outside of the plane, with another crew members body on top of her, and a serving cart pinned against her spine. 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. Though her injuries could have left her permanently paralyzed or even dead, within 10 months of her fall Vesna Vulovi was walking again. 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. She had a fractured skull, two crushed vertebrae and a broken pelvis, ribs and legs. D In 1972, Vesna Vulovic, a cabin attendant, survived a 10,160m fall when the DC-9 she was in exploded over what is now the Czech Republic. She plummeted back to earth in the tail in sub-zero temperatures, where she landed on a steep, snow-covered slope near a village, which is believed to have softened her fall. Is Tom Ford saying farewell to fashion with his surprise Final Collection? The crash debris was spread over a small area, which they cited as further proof that the aircraft disintegrated at low level, probably around 800 meters (2,600 feet) above the ground. Another Vesna should have been working. 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. "[21] Vulovi lamented that her mother and father might not have died prematurely had she not been aboard Flight 367, stating that the incident not only ruined her life, but also those of her parents. 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. Vesna Vulovic: The flight attendant who fell 10km in a plane - 9News Eyewitnesses from a village near the crash site said they saw the aircraft intact below the clouds and some stated that they heard a second aircraft directly before the crash. The explosion was determined to be from a briefcase bomb planted by the Ustae a Croatian separatist group seeking independence from Yugoslavia. As he went to investigate, he came across a grisly sight: the wreckage of an airplane, torn apart by an explosion. Youre right that if I was commenting on the blog as a whole I may be a bit off. The investigation said it was because she was away from the blast in the back, but Vulovi and eyewitnesses deny this. 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. Most prominent one is a German teenager Juliane Koepcke who survived a 3,000-metre (9,800 ft) fall after her flight broke up over the Peruvian Amazon in 1971. View our online Press Pack. Sign up here to receive my weekly post in your inbox. 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. Investigative teams conclusions are logical. If the plane gets a flat tire on landing did they fall that whole distance? Vesna died in December 2016 at the age of 66. The post states, directly, that she actually fell about 2,600 feet (at the point where the aircraft disintegrated) and that she does not hold any record for the longest survived fall or anything like it. With a history of low blood pressure, Vulovi knew it was unlikely shed pass the medical exam. Home Questions Celebrities How did Vesna Vulovic Survive the fall? The official accident report by the Czechoslovak Investigation Commission determined that a bomb on board exploded in the front baggage compartment which broke the aircraft in half. State TV in Vulovic's home country of Serbia said she was found dead in her apartment in Belgrade. You can also subscribe without commenting. How Vesna Vulovic Survived the 33,333 feet Fall? Stealth pun, Something definitely not correct here!!!! Vesna Vulovic, from Serbia, was working as a flight attendant on a Yugoslav Airlines DC-9 plane when a bomb brought the plane down in Czechoslovakia on 26 January 1972. [4] Vulovi attributed her recovery to her "Serbian stubbornness" and "a childhood diet that included chocolate, spinach, and fish oil". He clearly thinks highly of Vulovi. 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. [3] Her pelvis was fractured and several ribs broken. It was suspected that a bomb had been planted inside the jet during a stopover in Copenhagen. People Most Convinced They're Always Right About Politics Overrate Their Knowledge The Most, The Seven Unbelievable Survival Stories Of Frane Selak, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. [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. On the evening of January 26, 1972, Bruno Honke heard screaming coming from a hillside just outside of his village in Czechoslovakia. I agree. Email us attips@the-sun.co.ukor call 0207 782 4368 . Though she realized that JAT had confused her with another attendant named Vesna, she agreed to join anyway. [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. [11] The Czechoslovak Civil Aviation Authority later attributed the explosion to a briefcase bomb. Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? She stated that her ordeal had turned her into an optimist. "[21] Vulovi declined therapy to help cope with her experiences and instead turned to religion, becoming a devout Orthodox Christian. Much belated I thought I had responded but it didnt show up. For other inquiries, Contact Us. A suspected bomb had detonated aboard Flight 367. She told reporters that the last thing she remembered before waking up in hospital was greeting passengers as they boarded the plane. And rightly, she is celebrated as being one of the most remarkable human beings that have ever lived, Glenday added. No. 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). 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. Vesna Vulovic in a photo distributed to the press by JAT Airways in the early 1970s. Incredibly, Vulovic was found alive, trapped by a food cart in either the center section or the tail section of the jet, depending on sources. Vesna Vulovi - Wikipedia In Yugoslavia she was celebrated as a national hero. The new passengers boarded and the flight eventually took off at 3:15 PM. "She looked so nice and had just been to London for the day," Vulovi recalled. They claimed that the very thing that almost kept Vulovi from being a flight attendant is what ultimately saved her life. She was, he said, offered a million dollar contract for a Hollywood movie and many other offers to sell her story, but she said no to all of them. Ju flights to Danmark were either 36x or 37x and for Sweden 38x Required fields are marked *. The video demonstrated that the fuselage crash landed in the thick snow at a favourable angle and thats most likely what saved Vesnas life. Her physicians believe her low blood pressure kept her heart from bursting on impact with the mountainside. How Vesna Vulovic Survived a 33,000 ft Fall Without a Parachute Its incredible to think someone survived such a great fall. Originally, Vesna was never supposed to be on this flight. While many other passengers were sucked out of the plane after the explosion, Vulovi became pinned by the cart. Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. 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I didnt know about this one. How could flight attendant Vesna Vulovi survive a 33,333-foot fall You know that Stockholm lies in Sweden right? How could flight attendant Vesna Vulovi survive a 33,333-foot fall from an airplane that had broken up in mid-air? Vulovi's parents told her that she first learned of the crash about two weeks after it occurred. [19] In 1977,[c] she married mechanical engineer Nikola Breka after a year of dating. But involvement in the affairs of the post-Yugoslavian state was not always easy. She never regained any memory of the accident or of her rescue, and continued to fly as a passenger as a result. After learning about Vesna Vulovi and her record-breaking fall from the sky, check out Juliane Koepcke, who survived an extreme fall and then an 11-day trek through the jungle. She was 66. Did you know that Vesna was not actually supposed to be working on the doomed flight? Thanks for the clarification on this! In response to the attack, airport security measures were tightened in the country. She was the sole survivor after a briefcase bomb exploded in the baggage compartment of JAT Flight 367 on 26 January 1972, causing it to crash near Srbsk Kamenice, Czechoslovakia. Subsequently, it was determined that Vulovics fall was the highest that a human has ever sustained without a parachute. Having divorced, Vulovi lived alone in her Belgrade apartment on a small pension until her death in 2016. The aircraft, piloted by captain Ludvik Razdrih and first officer Ratko Mihi, broke into three pieces and spun out of control, crashing near the village of Srbsk Kamenice in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic ). "So I had to go shopping with them. YouTubeThe same type of aircraft that Vesna Vulovi was on before her fall. Its actually not at all clear how she survived the fall. Her Plane Exploded 33,000 Feet In The Air And Somehow Vesna Vulovi Survived The Fall. Amazingly, Vesna Vulovi was discovered alive in the wreckage, pinned down by a food cart. [1] Vulovi's friends said that she had struggled with heart ailments in the years leading up to her death. Somehow Brad miraculously survived the terrifying plunge after making a relatively soft landing in a lake at a golf club. The cause of the explosion on the JAT explosion is also somewhat mysterious. Gift Article Vesna Vulovic, a Serbian flight attendant who miraculously survived a plunge from a reported 33,000 feet after her plane exploded in midair in 1972, was reported dead on Dec. 24.. When she found out a friend was becoming a flight attendant and traveling the world, she jumped at the chance. Vulovic later recalled: I saw all the passengers and crew deplane [at Copenhagen Airport]. Miracle woman who survived '33,000ft fall', "Sestelen jugoslvskho letadla echy by se neutajilo, mn pamtnk od radaru", "Remembering Vesna Vulovi, flight attendant who survived 10,000-metre fall from plane", "Stewardesse overlevede fald p 10.000 meter", "Sahranjena legendarna stjuardesa koja je preivela pad sa 10 hiljada metara", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vesna_Vulovi&oldid=1151646084, This page was last edited on 25 April 2023, at 09:36. Although Vesna survived, she sustained extremely serious injuries and spent the following days in a coma. As the cabin depressurised, the passengers and other flight crew were believed to have been sucked out of the plane, into freezing temperatures, falling to their deaths.. The low blood pressure meant she passed out when the cabin depressurized and was later able to make a full recovery. A catering trolley was pinned against my spine and kept me in the plane.". In the first paragraph of her Wikipedia entry and every news article about her, it says that she is in the Guinness Book of Records for surviving the highest fall without a parachute. Well then by your logic this blog post doesnt belong on this blog. After checking out with the East German air traffic controllers on the border with Czechoslovakia, it should have been handed over to their Czech counterparts. [6] Added January 2016 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. 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[18] Vulovi continued to fly regularly, stating that other passengers were surprised to see her on flights and wanted to sit next to her. Remembering Vesna Vulovi, flight attendant who survived 10,000 - CBC How stewardess plummeted 33,000ft and SURVIVED when plane was - The Sun [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. What makes a Guinness World Records title? Its in the title. Solved Vesna Vulovic survived the longest fall on record - Chegg The explosive with ignition charge was placed in a suitcase of brown-red colour, ignited by an exploder /electric/, timed probably by an alarmclockwork, on which traces of the explosives were found. 50 years on, this remains the highest fall survived without a parachute ever. Vulovi was rescued by a woodsman who followed her screams in the dark forest. However, her dream almost didnt come true. [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. But this post is written to imply that Vesna fell 33,000 feet. THIRTY-SIX years ago, Vesna Vulovic plummeted 33,300 feet in temperatures of 60 degrees below zero after an explosion ripped apart the DC-9 Yugoslav Airlines plane on which she was working as a. 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. 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. A verification email has been sent to you. [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"). Vesna Vulovi was born in Belgrade on 3 January 1950. 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 (33,330 ft; 6.31 mi). I think he had checked in a bag in Stockholm, got off in Copenhagen, and never re-boarded the flight. The last thing I remember is boarding the plane by the rear door and seeing a few women cleaning the plane.. 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 was 66. In different instances from World War II, however, a Soviet airman bailed out from around 22,000 feet and had his impact cushioned by snow. But with all 27 other passengers and crew aboard the JAT Yugoslav Airlines Douglas DC-9 being killed, Vulovics story was not an altogether happy one. Reportedly, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev and his East German counterpart Erich Honecker were also in the air at the same time, following a conference in Prague, which could have explained that the Czechoslovak air defenses were jumpy. 40 years on, woman who survived 33,000 foot fall still faces questions [3] JAT felt that her presence on flights would attract too much publicity and instead gave her a desk job negotiating freight contracts. There was another Lancaster rear gunner who, when his aircraft broke up, glided to a safe landing in the tail section. But three days later, she awoke from her coma, and asked for a cigarette. Scan of the English Translation of the Official Report. [1][2] She was discovered by villager Bruno Honke, who heard her screaming amid the wreckage. Vesna Vulovic's 33,000 Feet Fall | Amusing Planet Physics. She was found by woodsman Bruno Honke, who heard her screaming in the dark as the rest of the plane came crashing to the ground. Two investigative journalists, Peter Hornung-Andersen and Pavel Theiner, published a shocking expos of the report, saying that the aircraft was not the victim of a terrorist attack at all but was shot down by Czechoslovakian Mig fighter jet at low level. One man seemed terribly annoyed. 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. In the morning, during breakfast, the co-pilot was talking about his son and daughter as if nobody else had a son or daughter. When the cabin depressurized, the passengers and other flight crew were blown out of the aircraft and fell to their . She wasnt even supposed to be on duty on the day of the fatal flight. Upon returning to Belgrade, Vulovi decided to become a flight attendant after seeing one of her friends in a flight attendant's uniform. [3], Between 1962 and 1982, Croatian nationalists carried out 128 terrorist attacks against Yugoslav civilian and military targets. [1] Her reputation as a "Cold War heroine" also extended to the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries. Some sources suggest that Vulovi's employment was terminated in 1990. there are some other free fall incidences which occurred apart from Ms Vesna Vulovic miraculous survival. Juliane Koepcke, who survived an extreme fall and then an 11-day trek through the jungle. Vesna Vulovic (1950-2016) - Find a Grave Memorial Therefore, she couldnt be pulled out of the plane. The 22-year old Serbian flight attendant Vesna Vulovic was part of the secondary cabin crew who boarded the airplane in Copenhagen, where the flight made a brief stopover en route to Belgrade. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Vesna survived after the plane she was on plummeted 33,000ft after it was brought down by a terror bomb, She was trapped by a food cart in the planes tail when the bomb exploded. She never regained memory of the accident or her rescue.