Vesna Vulović (born 3rd January 1950) retains the Guinness Book of Records world record for the highest fall without a parachute: 10,160 meters (33,000 feet).
The fall occurred on January 26, 1972, over Srbská Kamenice in Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic). Émigré Croat terrorists (Ustaša) had placed a bomb on board JAT Yugoslav Flight 364. The explosion tore the DC-9-32 to pieces, but Vulović survived. She remained strapped into her flight attendant's seat in the tail section of the plane, which remained attached to the washrooms. The assembly struck the snow-covered flank of a mountain.
Ironically, the 22-year old wasn't even scheduled to be on that flight; she had been mixed up with another stewardess named Vesna.
Vulović was the only survivor on the flight and not only lived to tell about it but 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, one of which was crushed and left her temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. She regained the use of her legs only after several months of successive surgeries.
Vulović was awarded the Guinness Record title at a ceremony by Paul McCartney. She later became a national hero in Yugoslavia in the 1970s.
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Last updated: 08-23-2005 01:48:49
