In a daring feat that rivals the stunts seen in James Bond movies, Vesna Vulović, a flight attendant aboard a Jat Airlines plane, miraculously survived a fall from 33,000 feet on January 26, 1972. Following a suspected briefcase bomb explosion that brought down the aircraft over the mountains of Czechoslovakia, Vulović was fortunate to find herself trapped in a food cart in the tail section of the aircraft, which landed on snow, cushioning her fall.
Despite suffering multiple injuries, including a fractured skull, two crushed vertebrae, a broken pelvis, multiple broken ribs, fractures in both legs, and temporary paralysis from the waist down, Vulović defied the odds and recovered. She later returned to work as a desk role at Vat Airlines but was eventually fired in the 1990s for participating in anti-government protests during the breakup of Yugoslavia.
Vulović’s remarkable story of survival made her a national hero in her home country. She became the first and only person to survive such a high-altitude fall without a parachute, leaving an indelible mark on aviation history and inspiring awe and admiration from around the world.