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.. 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. She was an amazing woman. "I was broken, and the doctors put me back together again," she told the New York Times in 2008. Air safety investigators attributed the explosion to a briefcase bomb. Nobody ever expected me to live this long.. Speaking to theNew York Times in 2008, Vesna recalled the nightmare: I was broken, and the doctors put me back together again. She fainted upon being shown a newspaper headline by her doctor and had to be tranquilized. Vesna was found by a farmer who managed to keep her alive until the rescuer's arrival. The tail landed in a heavily wooded and snow-blanketed part of a mountainside, which was thought to have cushioned the impact. The point about Ms Vulovics landing is that she didnt have the benefit of an intact plane when she reached the ground, which is a rather crucial distinction. Copyright 2022 The Statesman Limited. The small section she was in fell to the ground on a heavily wooded, snow-covered hillside. I did wonder. But three days later, she awoke from her coma, and asked for a cigarette. 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. She had total amnesia from the hour preceding her fall until one month afterwards. The data shows that the planes altitude, acceleration, direction and speed at the time of the explosion was indeed 33,333 ft, the video said. I'm a lurker and an ARFF firefighter, and I consider your, Sounds great! State TV in Vulovic's home country of Serbia . In 1971 she joined JAT Airways, Yugoslavias national flag carrier and the countrys largest airline. 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. 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. 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). "[21] Vulovi declined therapy to help cope with her experiences and instead turned to religion, becoming a devout Orthodox Christian. A bomb, which may have been planted in the front baggage compartment of the plane, exploded onboard when the aircraft was at 33,330 ft. Vulovic was in the tail section that fell to Earth. 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 Vulovi (Yugoslavia, b. A rare color shot of YU-AHT, the DC9-32 lost on January 26, 1972.. The rest of the 28 crew and passengers flew to their deaths when the cabin depressurized but she was trapped by the food cart. Having divorced, Vulovi lived alone in her Belgrade apartment on a small pension until her death in 2016. 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. 50 years on, this remains the highest fall survived without a parachute ever. because its not the fall that kills you! 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. 2023 BBC. In her home country of Yugoslavia, Vesna Vulovi became a national icon, honoured by the President of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito. Their theory suggested another case of mistaken identity, with the Czechoslovak authorities covering up the evidence of what really happened. We had an amusing round of guesses (She fell into jungle canopy which broke her fall in stages? She landed in very soft powdery snow?) and when I got home, I looked it up. You may unsubscribe from these communications at any time by visiting our unsubscribe page and providing your email address. It was not just surviving the crash but also the mental trauma of knowing that you have experienced one of the worst things that could possibly happen to you, Glenday added. Vulovi wished to go sightseeing but her colleagues insisted that they go shopping. Sorry. 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. [20] They also hypothesized that the call received by Kvllsposten, claiming responsibility for the aircraft's downing, was a hoax. [4] Vulovi was the only survivor of the 28 passengers and crew. Just 46 minutes into the fight, disaster struck. In a video posted on Twitter, GWR revisited the story of Vesna Vulovi who was a flight attendant onboard JAT Yugoslav Airlines Flight 367 on January 26, 1972. On 23 December, locksmiths discovered her body in her apartment after forcing open the door. She was in the rear of the plane with a food cart when the fuselage broke apart. 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. The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, landed at Copenhagen Airport at 2:30p.m., whereupon Vulovi and her colleagues boarded the plane. After the accident, she never flew again. Lost your password? [b] She also suffered two broken legs and three broken vertebrae, one of which was crushed completely. [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. [3][d] She attributed the divorce to her chain smoking, which her husband disapproved of. [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. [3][4] Nevertheless, Vulovi said that she was excited to travel to Denmark because it was her first time visiting the country. She was in the rear of the plane with a food cart when the fuselage broke apart. 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. On This Day in 1918: The tallest man ever is born, Prizes dont come any bigger: World's tallest man Sultan Kosen visits British school after competition win, The tragic death of Robert Wadlow, the tallest man ever, How to set or break a Guinness World Records title. Officially, this was attributed to a bomb that was thought to have been placed inside the luggage hold during the stopover in Copenhagen. YouTubeVesna Vulovi recovering in the hospital. 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. A STEWARDESS plummeted 33,000ft when her plane was brought down by a terror bomb, making her survival nothing short of miraculous. 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. "[4][16], In 2009, Peter Hornung-Andersen and Pavel Theiner, two Prague-based journalists, claimed that Flight 367 had been mistaken for an enemy aircraft and shot down by the Czechoslovak Air Force at an altitude of 800 metres (2,600ft), far lower than the official altitude of 10,160 metres (33,330ft). [6] 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. If I were lucky I would never had this accident," she said. A low-level incident would perhaps help to explain Vulovics unlikely survival, although such theories remain unverified and would rely on elaborate falsification of chemical traces and other evidence of an explosion on board. 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. All 27 other passengers and crew. [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. Its actually not at all clear how she survived the fall. "I thought, 'Why shouldn't I be an air hostess? Vulovic was rescued by Bruno Honke, a woodsman who heard her screaming in the dark while the debris came down around them. She had a fractured skull, two crushed vertebrae and a broken pelvis, ribs and legs. Folk Figure. 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. The video demonstrated that the fuselage crash landed in the thick snow at a favourable angle and thats most likely what saved Vesnas life. [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. Science. Departing Copenhagen in the afternoon, the DC-9 was flying on a busy route. "Nobody ever expected me to live this long.". [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. [11] The Czechoslovak Civil Aviation Authority later attributed the explosion to a briefcase bomb. Air Safety investigators explained she survived because she got trapped by a food cart. All rights reserved. ex JU ops employee. [1][2] She was discovered by villager Bruno Honke, who heard her screaming amid the wreckage. Vesna and her friends grew up in Yugoslavia listening to The Beatles so this was an extra special moment for her. "I am like a cat, I have had nine lives," she told the New York Times. The plane was flying from Stockholm in Sweden to Belgrade in Serbia with two stopovers one being in Copenhagen. Sign up here to receive my weekly post in your inbox. No sufficient evidence against the official crash report exists for Vesna's record to be disqualified. The beginning of destruction of the aircraft was in the altitude of 10050 m, which is testified by a sudden cutting off the function of the flight recorder and the voice-recorder. . I like it. Much belated I thought I had responded but it didnt show up. Ms Vulovic retired on a pension in Belgrade, where she died of heart problems in 2016. [3] She later campaigned on behalf of the Democratic Party and advocated for Serbia's entry into the European Union, which she believed would bring economic prosperity. Alerted to the situation, the East Germans continued to track the plane after it crossed into Czechoslovak airspace before the radar contact suddenly became more prominent and then disappeared. It is extremely probable that the aircraft was shot down by mistake by the Czechoslovak air force, and in order to cover it up the secret police conceived the record plunge, he said. [1] Her reputation as a "Cold War heroine" also extended to the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries. She holds the Guinness World Record for surviving the highest fall without a parachute. According to another section of the article: Vulovi has no memory of the crash. Read about our approach to external linking. So the thing to fear is not the falling, its the landing. Experts weigh in on this 'natural hair dye' to cover greys, prevent hair International Workers Day 2020: Wishes, Images, Quotes, Messages, Status, 'Curvy' mermaid statue causes stir in Southern Italy. The fall gained Vulovic a place in the Guinness Book of Records of 1985 for the highest fall survived without a parachute. Vulovis doctors concurred with the air investigators and added their own conclusions. Juliane Koepcke, who survived an extreme fall and then an 11-day trek through the jungle. Vesna was born on January 3rd, 1950. But this post is written to imply that Vesna fell 33,000 feet. Vesna Vulovic survived the longest fall on record without a parachute when her plane exploded and she fell 6 miles, 551 yards. From the hour preceding the crash until almost a month afterward, Vulovi had no idea what had happened. Then, read about Charles Joughin, the baker on the Titanic who survived the frigid waters that night through interesting means. At 500ft, his backup chute also failed after getting tangled in the shredded remains of the first one as he continued to plummet towards earth. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. She suffered a fractured skull, three broken vertebrae, broken legs, broken ribs, and a fractured pelvis. Vulovi said she was told that it might have been her low blood pressure which saved her by causing her to pass out before her heart could burst. 7 Vesna survived. Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Vesna Vulovi was no ordinary woman, however, and she went to her grave some 44 years after she survived the highest fall without a parachute. If you dont have an e-book reader and would prefer the book in PDF format, just email me at [emailprotected] and well work something out. Home Questions Celebrities How did Vesna Vulovic Survive the fall? Though it seemed impossible that anyone could have survived such a crash, Honke soon realized that someone had. I actually just now understood fear of landing being a play on fear of falling or whatever. I didnt know about this one. [3] Vulovi's parents had to sell both of their cars to pay for her treatment. 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. The same type of aircraft that Vesna Vulovi was on before her fall. Investigative teams conclusions are logical. The Czechoslovak secret police managed to spread this wild tale throughout the world, he added. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. Next, the fuselage separated from the rest of the plane and hurtled towards the ground in a heavily wooded area. 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. 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. Vesna Vulovic died in her Belgrade apartment in 2016. Of the 28 passengers and crew, Vesna Vulovi was the only survivor. We were actually talking about Felix Baumbartner, the man who jumped from the edge of space last year and made numerous records, including the highest freefall ever. Her turquoise uniform was covered in blood and her stiletto heels had been torn off by the force of the impact. She has no recollections of the crash at all. Although Vesna survived, she sustained extremely serious injuries and spent the following days in a coma. What is this distance in meters? He clearly thinks highly of Vulovi. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. However, many conspiracy theorists have claimed that the aircraft was flying at a much lower altitude than stated in the official accident report. [1][2] Her father was a businessman and her mother was a fitness instructor. The aircraft broke apart in mid-air before falling 33,330 feet down to the ground in Srbsk Kamenice, Czechoslovakia. An airplane that is still intact usually only achieves this in a parabolic flight, during aerobatics, and maybe you can say its free falling when you put it into a stall during training. The dangerous bit in aviation isnt the flying, its the landing. From the crash, Vulovi had sustained two broken legs, three broken vertebrae, a fractured pelvis, broken ribs, and a fractured skull. The guards changed shifts every six hours, and no one was allowed in to see her except for her parents and doctors. Fear We're loathe to start on a negative note, but the chances of an average individual surviving a plane crash are slim to none. Watch on. For other inquiries, Contact Us. 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). Air Safety investigators explained she survived because she got trapped by a food cart. "I am like a cat, I have had nine lives.. 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? (Give your answer to the nearest meter.) [1] She was soon made an honorary citizen of Srbsk Kamenice. Can we learn from this to save more lives? Learn how your comment data is processed. Tommy Mardell, who took the above photograph and many more photographs, including more great portraits of Vulovi, contacted me about this post. The investigation said it was because she was away from the blast in the back, but Vulovi and eyewitnesses deny this. A woman who survived 33,300 foot fall still faces questions over her ordeal 40 years to the day after a mysterious mid-air explosion sent her tumbling through the air on her record-breaking plunge. Traces on the frame of a black coloured trunk of the size 45 x 70 cm testify, that inside was placed the brow-red suitcase containing the explosive with ignition charge and the timing device. There is much controversy that surrounds the bombing but one thing is for sure, this flight attendants survival was nothing but pure luck. Your email address will not be published. Vesna Vulovic - stewardess who survived 33,000ft fall, diesTODAY I AM BRINGING YOU A NEW VIDEO -----AND UPLOAD A VIDEO ON YOUTUBE FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT. [3] The last thing that Vulovi could remember from before the crash was greeting passengers as they boarded. Moreover, her fall was cushioned by the snow on the mountains. He didn't want to go out at all. We'll use the information you provide us to contact you via email about our relevant content, products and services. If you found this post interesting, youll probably like Why Planes Crash, available now for just $3.99. Though it wasnt the fall that caused her life-threatening injuries, it was her contact with the ground after the fall that almost took her life. 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. 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. These injuries resulted in her being temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. 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). 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. More recently, a daredevil named Brad Guy survived a skydiving accident which saw him crash to the ground from 14,000ft in 2013. Her story won her fame and a celebrity status in Serbia, which she channelled into political campaigning. Stealth pun, Something definitely not correct here!!!! What are the physics involved? There was another odd anomaly: officials explained that Vulovi survived because she was in the rear of the aircraft but she stated in interviews that she was discovered in the middle part of the plane. The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards. 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 ). 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). 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, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. 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. 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. 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. The investigation, partially based on secret documents from the Czech civil aviation authority, claimed that the aircraft had an emergency situation and descended unexpectedly, without radio communication. It was there that I met up with a friend who suggested we go to Stockholm. Vesna Vulovics record fall Communist propaganda, say journalists | World news | guardian.co.uk. Vesna Vulovi: The Woman Who Fell From Heaven. Her physicians also concluded her low blood pressure to be a cause. The theory has also been dismissed by the Civilian Aviation Authority and Czech army experts. Dont crash the landing, and youll be fine. Thanks, 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.
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