Without having a parachute, a flight attendant made it through a fall of 33,333 feet.
She was the lone survivor of the incident.
Surviving a Fall of 33,333 Feet
Vesna Vulovic was initially not supposed to join the flight. However, a mix up that she just went with ended up placing her in Flight 367.
On January 6 at 1:30 p.m., the plane left Arlanda Airport. The plane would have then reached Copenhagen Airport around an hour later when Vulovic and her crew entered the plane. The plane left at 3:15 p.m. after welcoming new passengers and changing the flight crew.
An explosion then took place during the flight after around 16 minutes. The blast ended up tearing through the plane's baggage compartment. This made the plane break over the Czechoslovak village back then.
Vulovic was the only one who survived the incident. This was thanks to her being trapped in a food trolley within the fuselage of the plane.
It was later revealed by safety investigations that she survived a 33,333-foot fall without a parachute.
Investigators say that the landing angle of the fuselage over snow-covered mountains also ended up cushioning the land. This ultimately allowed Vulovic to survive the 33,333-feet fall.
Villager Bruno Honke also played a role in survival, as he heard her screaming from the plane wreckage. She was reportedly coated in blood, with her heels also blown off due to the impact. Honke served in the army medic previously and was able to help her survive until the arrival of rescuers.
Her two legs ended up breaking. Her skull also got fractured, and she ended up with several broken ribs, among other injuries.
She got paralyzed from the waist down and stayed in a coma for ten days.
However, multiple surgeries enabled her to regain the feeling later on.
Vulovic also had amnesia regarding the blast; She needed to be told about her situation.
Her fall made her become the Guinness World Record holder for the highest fall with no parachute.
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Highest Falls Survived Without Parachute
While Vulovic is the record holder for having the highest fall with no parachute, other people have also braved through and survived such a feat.
For one, American Alan Magee was able to survive a 22,000-foot fall in 1943. He fell from a damaged B-17 bomber.
Lieutenant Ivan Chisov from the Soviet Air Force and Sergeant Nicholas Alkemade from the Royal Air Force were also able to live through such incidents. After falling from a height of 18,000 feet, Alkemade just suffered from a sprained leg.
Bear Grylls was also able to survive a 16,000-foot fall after a parachute rip, and South African skydiver Christine McKenzie made it through a fall of 11,000 feet when her parachute did not open.
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