She was rushed to a hospital, where she fell into a coma for 10 days. She was rushed to a hospital, where she fell into a coma for 10 days. The cause of death was not immediately known. The guards changed shifts every six hours, and no one was allowed in to see her except for her parents and doctors. Serbia's state TV said Saturday Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Find a Grave. On 23 December, locksmiths discovered her body in her apartment after forcing open the door. It was suspected that a bomb had been planted inside the jet during a stopover in Copenhagen. 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. Vesna Vulovi was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade, Serbian state television reported. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? Picture: AP . 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 Vulovi in 1972. "So I had to go shopping with them. [21] Guinness World Records continues to list her as the record-holder for surviving the highest fall without a parachute. Her final years were spent in seclusion, and she struggled with survivor guilt. 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. 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. But it was no easy feat. The captain, Vulovi would later recall, spent 24 hours locked in his room, refusing to go out at all. Vesna Vulovi continued to fly until her death in 2016. stated in. The small section she was in fell to the ground on a heavily wooded, snow-covered hillside. Vulovi underwent treatment in a Prague hospital until 12 March 1972, after which she was flown to Belgrade. Nobody ever expected me to live this long.. Published: 11:57 EST, 24 December 2016 | Updated: 08:47 EST, 25 December 2016. 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. 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. Credit: Alamy. In 1972, Vesna Vulovic, a flight attendant, fell 33,000 feet in an aircraft explosion and survived. 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. The Czech authorities concluded that explosives in a suitcase had detonated and tore the jet apart. [12], Following the crash, Vulovi spent days in a coma, having fractured her skull and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. Do not sell or share my personal information. 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. 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. On the 35th anniversary of the disaster, in 2007, Zdenko Kubik, a firefighter, recalled: I heard a sound like that of military jets landing. She never regained memory of the accident or her rescue. retrieved. Vesna's physicians later determined that . On the evening of January 26, 1972, Bruno Honke heard screaming coming from a hillside just outside of his village in Czechoslovakia. Filip Horvat for The International Herald Tribune. So right before heading in, she drank several cups of coffee, hoping it would keep her blood pressure high enough. No sufficient evidence against the official crash report exists for Vesna's record to be disqualified. [9] A man, describing himself as a Croatian nationalist, called the Swedish newspaper Kvllsposten the following day and claimed responsibility for the bombing of Flight 367. 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. They didnt want me because they didnt want so much publicity about the accident, she told Green Light. The cause of death was not immediately known. Vulovic holds the Guinness World Record for highest fall without a parachute a miraculous 33,333-foot plunge to Earth. Her Plane Exploded 33,000 Feet In The Air And Somehow Vesna Vulovi Survived The Fall. But an investigation by two reporters in Prague in 2009 challenged that account. The Guinness Book of World Records says the plunge was from a height of 33,000 feet, the longest recorded fall without a parachute. 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. DR ELLIE CANNON: My breast has not got lumps but it's itchy, should I be concerned about cancer at age 72? She never regained memory of the accident or her rescue. "Everybody wanted to buy something for his or her family," she recalled. Amid the wreckage was a woman wearing a bloodstained turquoise flight attendants uniform and no shoes. The explosion was determined to be from a briefcase bomb planted by the Ustae a Croatian separatist group seeking independence from Yugoslavia. Amazingly, Vesna was able to walk again after ten months, albeit with a permanent limp due to the twisting of her spine. Thehorrors of Mariupol should remind us of a new danger to Sarajevo, Russians using Serbian loophole to avoid EU flights ban, Russia may pressure Serbia to undermine western Balkans, leaders warn, Iron Curtain by Vesna Goldsworthy review belonging and betrayal, Illegal extradition of Bahraini dissident from Serbia calls Interpols role into question. [1][2] She was discovered by villager Bruno Honke, who heard her screaming amid the wreckage. According to Guinness World Records, 30 years after the crash, Vulovic said: Im not lucky. Speaking of . Show more Show. At first, she could only move her left leg, and one month thereafter, she was able to move her right. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Vesna Vulovic died in Belgrade in December 2016, at the age of 66. She had total amnesia from the hour preceding her fall until one month afterwards. 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. In response to the attack, airport security measures were tightened in the country. 174350084. subject named as. "But if nationalist forces in this country prevail, my heart will burst.". She was rushed to hospital where she fell into a coma for 10 days. She never regained memory of the accident or her rescue. The crew had the entire afternoon and the following morning to themselves. Putting names to archive photos, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, In photos: India's disappearing single-screen cinemas. In Yugoslavia she was celebrated as a national hero. The same type of aircraft that Vesna Vulovi was on before her fall. When the cabin depressurized, the passengers and other flight crew were blown out of the aircraft and fell to their deaths. 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!' 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. Although Vesna survived, she sustained extremely serious injuries and spent the following days in a coma. A catering trolley was pinned against my spine and kept me in the plane.". Submit Vesna Vulovic's Ascendant in her annual horoscope for 1971/1972 is at the eighteenth degree of Gemini. The new passengers boarded and the flight eventually took off at 3:15 PM. In the tragedy on . A neighbor said she had called Ms. Vulovics brother after Ms. Vulovic did not answer her phone calls. 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? She was 66. Ms. Vulovic entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1985 for the highest fall survived without a parachute.. Her physicians believe her low blood pressure kept her heart from bursting on impact with the mountainside. Vesna Vulovic, was a flight attendant on Yugoslav Airlines DC-9 enroute from Stockholm to Belgrade. 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. She had a fractured skull, two crushed vertebrae and a broken pelvis, ribs and legs. . landed on a snowy, tree-covered hillside, claiming that documents showed the aircraft may have been mistakenly shot down. 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=1142131761, Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Serbian-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 17:58. However, her dream almost didnt come true. 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. 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. It was there that I met up with a friend who suggested we go to Stockholm. All rights reserved. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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?. I could go to London once a month'." The spectacular survival story won Vulovic celebrity status in Serbia, where she channelled her fame into campaigning for political causes. 0 references. 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 Vulovic, when she worked as a stewardess. Ms. Vulovic disagreed that luck played any part in helping her to survive the 33,000-foot fall. [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. A bomb exploded on board, causing the plane to split in half and violently spin out of control. Serbia's state TV reports Saturday Dec. 24, 2016, Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade, aged 66. The cause of death was not immediately known. Vulovis doctors concurred with the air investigators and added their own conclusions. The cause of death was not immediately known. Blic, a Serbian daily newspaper, said that locksmiths discovered her body in her apartment after forcing open the door. 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. First was Copenhagen in Denmark, which is where the secondary cabin crew - including Vesna - boarded the plane. Ms. Vulovic in a picture released by the airline. 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. All 27 other passengers and crew aboard perished. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. . She joined JAT, the national flag carrier and dominant airline of Yugoslavia, in 1971. 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. While many other passengers were sucked out of the plane after the explosion, Vulovi became pinned by the cart. 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. (AP Photo/Marko Drobnjakovic) (The Associated Press). Vulovi later campaigned on behalf of the Democratic Party, advocating for Serbia's entry into the European Union. She had no memory of the incident and had no qualms about flying in the aftermath of the crash. [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. 2023 BBC. Vesna Vulovic is believed to have been born on Jan. 3, 1950, in Belgrade. She had a fractured skull, two crushed vertebrae and a broken pelvis, ribs and legs. To her delight, it worked, and she was allowed into the flight attendant training program. [b] She also suffered two broken legs and three broken vertebrae, one of which was crushed completely. She eventually made a full recovery but never regained memory of the incident, as she explained in a 2002 interview with Green Light Limited. And the captain was locked in his room for 24 hours. Vesna Vulovic, Serbian stewardess who survived plane explosion & 10,000 meter . [18] Although she was advised by physicians that her injuries would not have an adverse effect on her reproductive function, Vulovi experienced an ectopic pregnancy that nearly proved fatal and was never able to have children. On 26 january 1972 an explosion on JAT Flight 367 (Jugoslavenski Aerotransport) caused the plane to break apart. Vesna, a Belgrade native, entered the Guinness World Records book after surviving the highest ever fall without a parachute. (File Photo) Verna Vulovic cheated death one fine day and lived to tell her horrific tale. "I thought, 'Why shouldn't I be an air hostess? Maybe it was a bad place., Vesna Vulovic, Flight Attendant Who Survived Jetliner Blast, Dies at 66, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/28/world/europe/vesna-vulovic-died-flight-attendant-in-plunge.html. She was honored by Josip Tito, Yugoslavias Communist leader, and celebrated as a national hero. ", "Too good to be true? "People always want to sit next to me on the plane," she said. 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). 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 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. She suffered a skull fracture and broke her legs. 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 . Call it a miracle or call it pure luck, but Vesna Vulovi was the only survivor of the crash. [10] The Czech Civil Aviation Authority dismissed the journalists' claim, calling it a conspiracy theory. date of death. [13] "Nobody ever expected me to live this long," she recounted in 2008. fell approximately 10,160 meters. Vesna [] She had been working for the airline for only eight months when the accident occurred. Back in 1972, the former stewardess survived a 10,160-meter fall from a plane that exploded midair. The Associated Press contributed to this report. [22] Hornung-Andersen conceded that the pair's evidence was only circumstantial. No arrests were ever made. If I were lucky, I would never had this accident, and my mother and father would be alive, she said. Vesna Vulovic, an ex-air stewardess who survived a 10 kilometre fall to Earth, is seen in a 2008 file photo. [3] The last thing that Vulovi could remember from before the crash was greeting passengers as they boarded. She fainted upon being shown a newspaper headline by her doctor and had to be tranquilized. Serbias state TV said Saturday that Ms. Vulovic was found dead by her friends in her apartment in Belgrade. The accident ruined their lives, too. 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 was. [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. Everybody thinks I am lucky, but they are mistaken. Legal Statement. She said in 2008 that she could only recall greeting passengers before takeoff from the airport in Denmark, and then waking up in hospital with her mother at her side.