Vesna Vulović

Vesna Vulović ( _sr. Весна Вуловић) (born 3 January 1950) is a Serbian political activist and former flight attendant. She holds the world record, according to the Guinness Book of Records, for surviving the highest fall without a parachute: 10,160 meters (33,333 feet). [ [http://www.tv.com/mythbusters/escape-slide-parachute/episode/439949/summary.html?tag=ep_list;title;45 Tv.Com - Mythbusters: Escape Slide Parachute (Story of Vesna Vulović)] ] [http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=18 An article on Damn Interesting] ]

The fall occurred on January 26, 1972, over Srbská Kamenice in Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic), after JAT Flight JU 367, on which Vulović was a flight attendant, broke apart. The official report of the Czechoslovak investigation commission which was handed over to ICAO only on 7 May 1974 stated that there had been an explosion in the front baggage compartment of the plane. The Czechoslovak secret service (Statní bezpecnost), which was leading the investigation, presented ten days after the crash parts of an alarm clock which they claimed to be part of a bomb. In the report hence it was concluded that the plane was torn apart by that bomb.

On the morning of 27 January 1972 an anonymous man called the newspaper Kvällsposten published in Malmö, Sweden claiming in bad Swedish that he is a Croat and member of a Nationalist group which brought the bomb into the plane. Apart from this there was never found any further evidence that this was a terrorist attack. Nevertheless shortly after the phone call the Yugoslav government blamed the Ustase which was the Yugoslav regime's denomination for Croatian nationalists and extremists of all kind. This has never been proved by other sources, neither the Czechoslovak investigators nor by an independent international investigation.

Following the official report the explosion tore the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 to pieces in mid-air, and Vesna was the only survivor. Ever since it was said that she survived because she had been in the rear part of the plane. However, Vulović says that she was found in the middle section right above the wings [http://www.avsec.com/interviews/vesna-vulovic.htm Interview with Vesna Vulović] ] . That tallies to what Bruno Henke said, the man who saved Vesna's life by rescuing her from the torn- apart fuselage on the ground.

The 22-year old was not scheduled to be on that flight; she had been mixed up with another female flight attendant who was also named Vesna.

Vulović continued working for JAT at a desk job following her full recovery from injuries which included a fractured skull, two broken legs and three broken vertebrae, which left her temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. She regained the use of her legs after surgery and continued to fly sporadically. She claims she has no fear of flying, which she attributes to the loss of memory of the crash, and even enjoys watching movies with plane crashes. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/26/world/europe/26vulovic.html?_r=1 The New York Times - Serbia’s Most Famous Survivor Fears That Recent History Will Repeat Itself] ] She is considered a national heroine throughout the former Yugoslavia.

Vulović was awarded the Guinness Record title by Paul McCartney at a ceremony.

Vulović was eventually fired in 1990 for expressing views critical of Yugoslav ruler Slobodan Milošević. She participated in protests of his rule afterward, up to and including the Bulldozer Revolution that led to his ousting. Many believe that her status as a national heroine prevented authorities from arresting her despite her open defiance of the Milošević regime. She continues to be vocal in politics in Serbia, and is a supporter of current President Boris Tadić.

ee also

*Freefall
*Pan Am Flight 103 (Survival aspects)

References