The story of a flight attendant who survived a fall from a height of 10 thousand meters

On December 23, 2016, at the age of 66, the legendary flight attendant Vesna Vulovich died, who in 1972 was present at the explosion in the cabin of the aircraft, and then fell together with the wreckage from a height of 10 km. She suffered numerous fractures and injuries, fell into a coma for a few days, but then recovered, entered the Guinness Book of Records and became a world celebrity.

Vesna said that she was as much a "survivor" as other residents of Serbia: "We, the Serbs, are truly survivors. We have survived communism, Tito, war, poverty, NATO bombing, sanctions and Milosevic. We just want a normal life."

On January 26, 1972, 22-year-old Vesna Vulovic flew from Stockholm to Belgrade on a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 aircraft operated by Yaroslav Airlines. When the plane flew over the German Hersdorf, it disappeared from radar, and 46 minutes after departure exploded in the air. It is assumed that the bomb was carried on board by Croatian nationalists - Ustashi. The wreckage fell near the village of Srpska Kamenice in Czechoslovakia.

Of the 28 people who were on board, only Vulovich survived. As a result of the fall, she received fractures of the base of the skull, three vertebrae, both legs and pelvis, spent several days in a coma, but then woke up and first of all asked for a cigarette. Interestingly, by mistake of the airline, the girl got on the flight instead of another flight attendant with the same name (Vesna Nikolic). By the time of the crash, the flight attendant had not yet completed her training and was in the crew as an intern.

What saved Vulovic, who spent three minutes in free fall? Perhaps it was the fact that she was trapped in the tail of the plane, between the corpses and pieces of luggage. In addition, the impact was softened by pine branches and a thick layer of snow.

Her screams in the forest were heard by forester Bruno Henke, who was a doctor in the German army during World War II. He helped the girl to hold out until the arrival of medical assistance.

Vulovic spent 10 months with paralysis of the lower body (from the waist to the legs). After that, she was treated for another six months, but then recovered and even asked to fly on flights with JAT again. She was refused and instead given a job at the airline's office.

Such fearlessness is explained by the fact that Spring did not remember either the accident or her rescue. In an interview in 2008, she admitted that she remembers only how she greeted passengers after takeoff from Copenhagen, and then how she woke up in the hospital and saw her mother.

Vulovic became a national heroine: she was given a reception by Marshal Tito, which was then considered a great honor for a citizen of Yugoslavia. Songs were dedicated to the woman and she was invited to the most popular television shows. It became popular to name girls after the stewardess who survived: it seemed to bring them good luck.

Vesna Vulovich used her fame for political purposes: she protested against the power of Slobodan Milosevic, and later campaigned for one of the parties in the elections.

The peak of Vulovich's international fame came in 1985, when she was invited to London on behalf of the Guinness Book of Records. There, Vulovich received an award as a person who survived a fall without a parachute from a maximum height. The prize was presented to the woman by musician Paul McCartney, the idol of her youth.

Vesna Vulovic was found dead at her home in Belgrade: the police opened the woman's apartment at the request of her friends, alarmed that she was not answering calls.