Did You Know About... Vesna Vulović?

Vulović Survived a 33,000 foot fall

Did you know… that the world’s highest recorded fall without a parachute was survived by a flight attendant?

Vesna Vulović

Her name was Vesna Vulović, a 22-year-old working for Yugoslavia’s JAT Airways. She wasn’t even scheduled to be on that flight. A mix-up put her on JAT Flight 367, flying from Stockholm to Belgrade, with stops in Copenhagen and Zagreb.

The Flight

On January 26, 1972, as the DC-9 flew over what was then Czechoslovakia, a suitcase bomb detonated in the baggage compartment. The aircraft broke apart mid-air at 33,000 feet. All 27 others onboard were killed.

The cause was blamed on Croatian nationalists, though no one was ever officially charged. Reports indicated the bomb had been placed in a suitcase and loaded at the Copenhagen stop.

How did she survive?

Vesna was found trapped in a section of the fuselage, pinned by a food cart. Her fall was broken by snow-covered trees and the steep terrain of Srbská Kamenice, a small village. A former World War II medic heard her cries and pulled her from the wreckage.

She suffered a fractured skull, broken legs, three crushed vertebrae, and was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. But she survived. Doctors later credited her low blood pressure for keeping her heart from bursting during the descent.

An international investigation followed. Many believed it was sabotage. Some questioned the official story, but her fall remains certified by Guinness World Records.

In Later Years

Vesna lived, but she paid a price. Her injuries never fully healed. She became a national hero in Yugoslavia but later lived a quiet, isolated life. She passed away in 2016, alone in her apartment. Some say she carried survivor’s guilt until the end.