Vesna Vulović made headlines around the world after surviving a 33,000ft fall without a parachute, earning a Guinness World Record. Her story is one of the most extraordinary survival tales.
On January 26, 1972, Vesna, a 23-year-old flight attendant, boarded JAT Yugoslav Airlines Flight 367, heading from Copenhagen to Belgrade. She wasn’t supposed to be on the flight, as there had been a mix-up by the airline. Instead of the other crew member with the same name, Vesna was assigned to the flight.
While flying over Srbska Kamenice, then part of Czechoslovakia, the plane exploded in mid-air. The blast caused many passengers to be ejected from the plane due to rapid changes in air pressure, and they tragically died instantly.
Miraculously, Vesna survived. She was pinned by a food cart in the wreckage as the plane fell. The fuselage crashed into a forest covered in deep snow, which helped cushion her fall and likely saved her life.
Vesna has no memory of the incident itself. The fall left her with multiple serious injuries, including a fractured skull, broken vertebrae, legs, ribs, and pelvis. Yet, she survived.
Bruno Honke, a former medic, found Vesna among the wreckage and provided vital first aid. Vesna was later placed in a coma for several days, with no memory of the crash or the month after it.
When she woke, she thought she was in Slovenia, not realizing what had happened. After 10 months of recovery, Vesna regained the ability to walk, despite being temporarily paralyzed.
The cause of the crash was believed to be a bomb hidden in a suitcase, although no one was ever arrested for it. Vesna was the only survivor of the crash, earning a world record for surviving the highest fall without a parachute.
Vesna passed away in 2016 at age 66. When asked if she considered herself lucky to survive, she responded, “If I were lucky, I would never have had this accident.”