20 Survival Stories That Put Human Endurance in Another Light

World records are usually associated with athletic fields, stopwatch buttons, and carefully prepared attempts. Vesna Vulović entered the record books through an event she never chose. On January 26, 1972, JAT Flight 367 broke apart over Czechoslovakia after an explosion. The flight attendant became trapped inside a section of the fuselage as it fell, according to the official investigation, from 33,330 feet. Snow, trees, the angle of the slope, and the surrounding wreckage may all have reduced the impact.