On January 26, 1972, a JAT Yugoslav Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-9, operating flight 367 from Stockholm to Belgrade with a stopover in Copenhagen, exploded over Czechoslovakia at an altitude of over 10.000 meters. The explosion, attributed to an explosive device hidden in the baggage compartment, broke the aircraft into three pieces and killed all 27 people on board. Only one flight attendant survived the air disaster. Vesna Vulović, then 22 years old, was found alive in the wreckage near the village of Srbská Kamenice, in a snow-covered, wooded area.
The improbable world record for falling
Vesna Vulović still holds the world record for the highest freefall ever survived without a parachute, estimated at 10.160 m. Aviation investigators concluded that several factors contributed to her survival: She was trapped in an intact section of the fuselage which, upon falling, crashed into a snowy forest, thus lessening the impact.
Terrible injuries and exceptional resilience
Vesna Vulović emerged from a 27-day coma and spent approximately 16 months in hospital care. She suffered multiple fractures, including those of her skull, pelvis, legs, and three vertebrae, as well as broken ribs, and was temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. Despite these injuries, she eventually regained the ability to walk, albeit with a marked gait. She has no memory of the accident or the period surrounding the explosion and the fall.
From survivor to national icon
Born in Belgrade on January 3, 1950, Vesna Vulović became a popular figure in Yugoslavia after the crash, hailed as a symbol of resilience. In 1985, she was invited to the Guinness World Records Hall of Fame, where Paul McCartney presented her with a certificate and a medal for her record. Later, she became involved in political activities, including protests against Serbian President Slobodan Milošević in the early 1990s, which led to her dismissal from the airline.
An investigation shrouded in mystery
The official investigation attributed the explosion to a terrorist act, with suspicion falling on Croatian nationalists, although no arrests were made. Some journalists, however, suggested that the aircraft disintegrated at a lower altitude than officially reported, but these claims were never confirmed.
An aviation legend immortalized
Vesna Vulović died in Belgrade on December 23, 2016, at the age of 66. Until her death, she held the world record for the highest freefall without a parachute and remains a prominent figure in the history of aviation and survival records.
