History is full of incidents that show people’s courage and resilience. But there are very few stories that shine as brightly as that of Vesna Vulovic. Her remarkable journey from tragedy to triumph serves as a testament to the indomitable human spirit. Ms Vulovic was working as a flight attendant onboard JAT Yugoslav Airlines’ Flight 367 on January 26, 1972, when a suspected bomb brought down the plane among the mountains over Czechoslovakia – now known as the Czech Republic. All 27 other passengers and crew died but Ms Vulovic survived.
According to the BBC, the plane exploded mid-air but Ms Vulovic survived the 33,000-foot fall, the highest recorded fall without a parachute in aviation history.
A team of investigators later said that she was trapped by a food cart in the plane’s tail section as it plummeted to earth.
The tail landed in a snow-blanketed and forested area that was thought to have cushioned the impact, the outlet further said.
Ms Vulovic’s screams were heard by Bruno Honke, a woodsman. She was taken to the hospital where she fell into a coma for 10 days.
Ms Vulovic suffered a fractured skull, two crushed vertebrae and she also broke her pelvis, several ribs and both legs.
“I was broken, and the doctors put me back together again,” she told the New York Times in 2008.
She was temporarily paralysed from the waist down by the fall, but she never surrendered to despair. Ms Vulovic made a near-full recovery and returned to work for the airline in a desk job.
Her miraculous survival earned her a place in the Guinness Book of Records in 1985.
She had no recollection of the incident and continued to fly as a passenger.
Ms Vulovic’s harrowing experience transformed her into a symbol of hope and reconciliation, and a celebrity in Serbia. She dedicated her life to advocating for peace, bridging divides, and fostering understanding among people from diverse backgrounds.
Ms Vulovic channelled her fame into campaigning for political causes.
“I am like a cat, I have had nine lives. But if nationalist forces in this country prevail, my heart will burst,” she told NYT.
Ms Vulovic died in 2016, at the age of 66.
