A flight attendant who survived a plane crash. “I didn’t feel my body.” Survivors of terrible plane crashes: amazing cases of rescue from a fall from a ten-kilometer height. Russian plane crash in Egypt

December 23, 1971 A LANSA Lockheed L-188A aircraft with 92 passengers on board took off from the capital of Peru, Lima, and headed for the city of Pucallpa. 500 km northeast of the country's capital, the airliner fell into a vast thunderstorm area, broke up in the air and fell into the jungle. Only 17-year-old Juliana Diler Kopka, who was thrown out of the plane, managed to survive the terrible crash.

Juliana Dealer Kopke

“Suddenly an amazing silence reigned around me. The plane disappeared. I must have been unconscious and then came to. I flew, spinning in the air, and could see the forest rapidly approaching below me.” Then the girl, falling, lost consciousness again. When falling from a height of about 3 km. she
she broke her collarbone, injured her right arm, and her right eye was covered with swelling from the impact.
“I probably survived because I was strapped into a row of seats,” she says. “I was spinning like a helicopter, which may have slowed my fall. In addition, the place where I landed was densely covered with vegetation, which reduced the force of the impact."
For 9 days, Juliana wandered through the jungle, trying not to leave the stream, believing that sooner or later it would lead her to civilization. The stream also provided the girl with water. Nine days later, Juliana found a canoe and a shelter in which she hid and waited. Soon she was found in this shelter by lumberjacks.

January 26, 1972 Croatian terrorists blew up a passenger plane over the Czech town of Serbska Kamenice McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, owned by JAT Yugoslav Airlines. The plane was traveling from Copenhagen to Zagreb, with 28 people on board. A bomb planted in the luggage compartment detonated at an altitude of 10,160 m. 27 passengers and crew members were killed, but 22-year-old flight attendant Vesna Vulovich remained alive after falling from a height of more than 10 km.

Vesna Vulovich

The plane crashed into snow-covered trees, and a few hours after the tragedy, a qualified physician turned up at the scene of the disaster and recognized Vesna’s signs of life. Her skull was fractured, both legs and three vertebrae were broken, leaving her lower body paralyzed. Quick help saved the girl's life. She was in a coma for 27 days, and after another 16 months she was in the hospital. After leaving it, Vulovich continued to work for her airline, but on the ground. The miraculous rescue of Vesna Vulović is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest altitude jump without a parachute.

October 13, 1972 year, an FH-227D/LCD plane crashed in the Andes. 29 people out of 45 on board were killed. Survivors were not found until December 22, 1972.

On October 13, 1972, a team of rugby players from Montevideo went to compete in the capital of Chile, Santiago. In addition to them, on the Fairchild-Hiller FH-227D/LCD plane of the Uruguayan airline Tamu there were also passengers and 5 crew members - a total of 45 people. Along the way, they had to make an intermediate landing in Buenos Aires.

However, the T-571 “board” found itself in a strong turbulent zone. In heavy fog, the pilot made a navigation error: the plane, flying at an altitude of 500 m, headed straight towards one of the mountain peaks of the Argentine Andes.

The crew reacted too late to the error. A few moments later, the “board” hit the rocks, puncturing the steel skin of the aircraft. The fuselage collapsed; from the terrible impact, several seats were torn off the floor and thrown out together with the passengers. Seventeen of the 45 people died instantly when the Fairchild Hiller crashed into the snow.

As a result of the plane crash, people spent two months in a snowy hell - at an altitude of 4 thousand meters, at a temperature of minus 40 degrees. They were discovered only on December 22!

“After the disaster, 28 people survived, but after an avalanche and long grueling weeks of starvation, only sixteen remained.

Days and weeks passed, and people, without warm clothes, continued to live in forty-degree frost. The food that was stored on board the crashed plane did not last long. Meager supplies had to be divided up bit by bit in order to stretch them out over a longer period of time. In the end, all that was left was chocolate and a thimble's worth of wine. But now they are over. For the survivors, hunger took its toll: on the tenth day they began to eat corpses."

August 24, 1981 in the Far East at an altitude of 5 km. passenger plane collided An-24 of Aeroflot airlines and bomber Tu-16 USSR Air Force.

Among the 32 people, only a 20-year-old woman survived Larisa Savitskaya, returning with her husband from a honeymoon.

Larisa with her husband

At the time of the disaster, Larisa Savitskaya was sleeping in her seat at the rear of the plane. I woke up from a strong blow and a sudden burn (the temperature instantly dropped from 25 C to −30 C). After another break in the fuselage, which passed right in front of her seat, Larisa was thrown into the aisle, waking up, she reached the nearest seat, climbed in and pressed herself into it, without having buckled herself in. Larisa herself later claimed that at that moment she remembered an episode from the film “Miracles Still Happen,” where the heroine squeezed into a chair during a plane crash and survived.

Part of the plane's body landed on a birch grove, which softened the blow. According to subsequent studies, the entire fall of the plane fragment measuring 3 meters wide by 4 meters long, where Savitskaya ended up, took 8 minutes. Savitskaya was unconscious for several hours. Waking up on the ground, Larisa saw in front of her a chair with the body of her dead husband. She received a number of serious injuries, but could move independently.

Two days later, she was discovered by rescuers, who were very surprised when, after two days they came across only the bodies of the dead, they met a living person. Larisa was covered in paint flying off the fuselage, and her hair was very tangled in the wind. While waiting for rescuers, she built herself a temporary shelter from the wreckage of the plane, keeping warm with seat covers and covering herself from mosquitoes with a plastic bag. It rained all these days. When it ended, she waved to rescue planes flying past, but they, not expecting to find survivors, mistook her for a geologist from a nearby camp. Larisa, the bodies of her husband and two other passengers were discovered as the last of all the victims of the disaster.
Doctors determined she had a concussion, spinal injuries in five places, and broken arms and ribs. She also lost almost all her teeth.

Larisa Savitskaya

From Larisa's interview:

- How did this really happen?

The planes collided tangentially. The wings of the An-24 were torn off along with the gas tanks and roof. In a fraction of a second the plane turned into a “boat”. At that moment I was sleeping. I remember a terrible blow, a burn - the temperature instantly dropped from plus 25 to minus 30. Terrible screams and whistling air. My husband died immediately - at that moment my life ended. I didn't even scream. Because of grief, I didn’t have time to realize my fear.

- Did you fall in this “boat”?

No. Then it broke in two. The rift passed right in front of our chairs. I ended up in the tail section. I was thrown into the passage, straight onto the bulkheads. At first I lost consciousness, and when I came to my senses, I lay there and thought - but not about death, but about pain. I don't want it to hurt when I fall. And then I remembered one Italian film - “Miracles Still Occur.” Just one episode: how the heroine escapes from a plane crash, huddled in a chair. Somehow I got to it...

- And did you buckle up?

I didn't even think about it. Actions were ahead of consciousness. I started looking out the window to “catch the ground.” It was necessary to depreciate on time. I didn’t hope to be saved, I just wanted to die without pain. There was very low cloudiness, then a green flash and a blow. Fell into the taiga, on a birch forest - lucky again.

- Don’t say that you didn’t receive a single injury.

Concussion, spinal injury in five places, broken arm, rib, leg. Almost all of the teeth were knocked out. But they never gave me disability. The doctors said: “We understand that you are collectively disabled. But we can’t do anything - each injury individually does not qualify as a disability. Now, if there was only one, but a serious one, then please.”

- How much time did you spend in the taiga?

Three days. When I woke up, my husband’s body was lying right in front of me. The state of shock was such that I did not feel pain. I could even walk. When the rescuers found me, they couldn’t say anything except “moo-moo.” I understand them. Three days of removing pieces of bodies from trees, and then suddenly seeing a living person. Yes, and I still had the same view. I was all the color of prunes with a silver tint - the paint from the fuselage turned out to be extremely sticky, my mother spent a month picking it out. And the wind turned my hair into a large piece of glass wool. Surprisingly, as soon as I saw the rescuers, I could no longer walk. Relaxed. Then, in Zavitinsk, I found out that a grave had already been dug for me. They were dug according to lists.

August 12, 1985 Boeing 747SR-46 Japanese airline Japan Airlines crashed near Mount Takamagahara, 100 km from Tokyo in the mountain area (Gunma Prefecture). Of the 520 people, only four women managed to survive: 24-year-old Japan Airline employee Hiroko Yoshizaki, 34-year-old plane passenger and her eight-year-old daughter Mikiko, and 12-year-old Keiko Kawakami, who was found sitting in a tree.

All four lucky ones were sitting in the center row of seats at the very rear of the plane. For the remaining 520 passengers and crew members, this flight was the last. In terms of the number of victims, the crash of the Japanese Boeing 747 is second only to the disaster in Tenerife in 1977, when two Boeings collided. Never before have so many people died on any liner.

August 16, 1987 McDonnell Douglas MD-82 While taking off from Metro Airport, the plane lost control and first hit power lines located 800 meters from the runway with its left wing, then the roof of a car rental shop, after which it crashed on the ground.

There were 155 people on board. 4-year-old Cecelia Sichan was found by rescuers in her chair, a few meters from the bodies of her parents and 6-year-old brother. Until now, not a single specialist can explain how, and with the help of what miracle, she was able to survive. The possible cause of this plane crash is considered to be the negligence of the pilot and crew in following the takeoff trajectory.

July 28, 2002. crashed at Moscow Sheremetyevo airport immediately after takeoff IL 86, which carried 16 people: four pilots, 10 flight attendants and two engineers. 200 m after the plane took off from the ground, there was a loss of engine power, the plane fell onto the left wing and crashed, after which an explosion occurred.

Only two flight attendants managed to survive: Tatyana Moiseeva and Arina Vinogradova. Vinogradova, some time after being discharged from the hospital and completing a rehabilitation course, returned to work, and Moiseeva decided not to tempt fate and stay on earth.

June 30, 2009 A plane crashed off the coast of the Comoros Islands A310 Yemen airline Yemenia, making a flight from the capital of Yemen, Sana'a, to the capital of Comoros, Moroni. There were 153 people on board the A310.

The only surviving passenger on the crashed plane was a twelve-year-old girl. Bahia Bakari, having French citizenship. When she hit the water, she was literally thrown out of the plane. For several hours, the girl, who practically could not swim, without a life jacket and in complete darkness, tried to hold on to the wreckage of the plane so as not to drown. At first she tried to navigate by the voices of other passengers, but they soon died down. When dawn broke, she realized that she was completely alone in the center of an oil puddle on the surface of the water. Fortunately, she managed to climb onto a large piece of debris and fall asleep, despite being overtired and thirsty. At some point, she saw a ship on the horizon, but it sailed too far and she was not noticed. The crew of the private ship Sima Com 2 discovered Bakari only 13 hours after the plane crash. Another 7 hours later she found herself on land, where she was sent to the hospital. The girl received numerous bruises, her collarbone was broken and her knees were burned.

May 12, 2010 Airbus-330 The Libyan airline Afriqiyah Airways, arriving from Johannesburg (South Africa), crashed while landing at Tripoli International Airport. In foggy conditions, the crew decided to go for the 2nd circle, but did not have time. There were 104 people on board. Among the wreckage, the only survivor found was an eight-year-old boy with fractures in both legs. He was pushed back by the chair, which may have absorbed the blow.

September 6, 2011 In Bolivia, a private airline plane crashed in the Amazon jungle. As a result, it was initially believed that all 9 people on board were killed. After 3 days of searching, a miraculously surviving passenger was found - 35-year-old Bolivian cosmetics seller Minor Vidal. He escaped with head bruises and broken ribs. Minor Vidallo said that he was under the wreckage of the plane for more than 15 hours, and when he managed to get out, he went deep into the forest in search of people.

A plane crash survivor was found several kilometers from the crash site. “We saw a man on the river bank giving us signals,” said Captain David Bustos, who led the rescue operation. “As we got closer, he knelt down and began to thank God.”

Against all odds, these people managed to survive and escape from terrible plane crashes; sometimes due to simple luck, sometimes due to their own courage or the self-sacrifice of those who were with them at the time of the accident.

22 year old flight attendant

A young Serbian flight attendant named Vesna Vulović was the only person to survive the DC-9 crash over Hinterhermsdorf, Germany on January 26, 1972. The miraculously saved girl became the owner of the world altitude record for surviving a free fall without a parachute according to the Guinness Book of Records. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 was flying JAT 367 from Stockholm to Belgrade with intermediate stops in Copenhagen and Zagreb when it exploded at an altitude of 10,160 meters due to an explosive device going off in the luggage compartment. Vesna Vulović survived the explosion and was the only survivor of 28 passengers and crew members after the debris fell to the ground. The crime remained unsolved, and no organization took responsibility for it. At the time of the accident, Vesna Vulović had not yet completed her training and ended up on the flight by mistake instead of another flight attendant with a similar name - Vesna Nikolic. The girl lost consciousness at the time of the explosion and woke up in the hospital, where she was taken with a fracture of the base of the skull, three vertebrae, both legs and pelvis. She did not develop a fear of flying, and later she flew for some time on Yugoslav Airlines planes as a flight attendant, and then received an office position at the airline. She lived to be 66 years old.

4 year old girl

Cecilia Sichan (Crocker) was just 4 years old in August 1987 when the Northwest Airlines McDonnell Douglas MD-82 she and her family were flying home from vacation failed to gain altitude at Detroit Airport and crashed into a pole. The mother shielded her daughter with her body. As a result, she became the only survivor of the plane crash despite severe injuries: the girl had a fractured skull, a broken leg and collarbone, and she also received third-degree burns. As the investigation found, the accident occurred due to an electronics failure: the crew was unable to control the speed and angle of takeoff. The reasons for the failure remained unclear. The accident caused the death of 153 people - passengers and crew members, as well as two eyewitnesses to the crash on the ground. Little Cecilia was taken in by her uncle and aunt, her mother's sister. She learned about the tragedy of her family later and in memory of this she got a tattoo on her wrist in the form of a small airliner. In the documentary Sole Survivor, she told interviewers that she had long felt guilty for surviving when the rest of her family died.

17 year old schoolgirl

On December 24, 1971, 17-year-old Juliana Koepke and her mother were flying on board a LANSA Lockheed L-188 Electra turboprop from Lima, Peru, to Iquitos with a stopover in Pucallpa. At an altitude of 6400 meters, the right wing of the plane was struck by lightning, which caused a fire in the fuel tank. The plane began to descend, soon its wing fell off and the aircraft, collapsing, fell from a height of 3200 meters into the tropical forest. At first, rescue services decided that all 92 people on board had died. However, ten days later, a 17-year-old schoolgirl from a family of German emigrants, Juliana Kepke, came out of the forest to people. Both of her parents were biologists.

According to the girl’s stories, she woke up on the second day after the disaster, covered on top of the three-seater chair on which she sat on the plane. The girl had a broken collarbone and a torn ligament in her knee, she also suffered a bruise to her right eye, a concussion and numerous deep cuts. For some time she could not move, but on the fourth day she came to her senses enough to try to reach people on her own. She didn't find her mother. She searched the wreckage of the plane for food and found a small bag of candy. Based on the knowledge she received from her parents about survival in the jungle, the girl set off along the course of a stream that flowed not far from the scene of the accident. She practically did not sleep at night from the pain in her wounds, and besides, they were infested with larvae: in the jungle the girl was pursued by hordes of insects.

Finally, on the sixth day of hiking through the jungle, Juliana discovered a moored boat and a hut to shelter the boat's motor next to it. She was found sleeping on the dirt floor of a hut by lumberjacks from a local village. Currently, Juliana continues to live in Peru, works as a biologist, like her parents, and is also the author of the book “When I Fell from the Sky.”

Game of Thrones star Sophia Turner signed on in 2017 to play Juliana in The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, based on the book.

The chance of dying during air travel is very low: one in 9 million. A lot can happen more than 10km above the ground, and if you're unlucky enough to find yourself on board a plane when something goes wrong, it's a matter of life and death depending on the decisions you make. Almost 95% of plane crashes have survivors, so even in the worst case scenario, your chances aren't as bad as you might think. You can take precautions before you fly, stay calm when you fall, and stay alive.

Steps

Part 1

Wear comfortable clothes. If you survive a plane crash, you will need to stay warm. Even if this factor is not taken critically, you will still get fewer burns and be able to avoid numerous injuries if your body is covered as much as possible with clothing. Wear a long-sleeve T-shirt, pants, and sturdy lace-up shoes.

• Loose or loose clothing can be dangerous on board an aircraft as there is a chance that the clothing may get caught on something and prevent you from moving freely. If your flight route takes you over cold areas, dress appropriately. It is advisable to have a jacket with you.
• Clothing made from cotton or wool is also suitable, since they contain components that are difficult to ignite. When flying over water, wool clothing is preferred because wool does not lose its insulating properties if it gets wet, just like cotton.

1. Wear practical shoes. While you might want to fly in comfort or look professional on board, your sandals or high heels can make it difficult to move quickly when necessary. High heels are not recommended to be worn during the flight. You can find information about this on the evacuation slides.

   It's better to sit in the back of the plane. Passengers who sit in the rear are 40% more likely to survive a fall. Being able to get out quickly gives you a better chance of survival, so the best seats are along the aisles, close to the exit and at the back of the plane.

   Read the passenger advisory and listen carefully to the safety instructions that are announced before takeoff. Yes, you may have heard all this before and perhaps this information was never useful to you. However, the information you miss because you're wearing headphones can be vital if you fall.

   Count the number of seats between your seat and the emergency exit. Find your nearest emergency exit and count the number of seats you need to pass. During a fall, there may be smoke, noise, or chaos in the cabin. You may have to feel your way to the emergency exit, and it will be easier if you know where the exit is and how far it is from you.

   • You can even write down the number of seats on your hand. In case the number slips out of your head, the reminder will be in an easily accessible place.

2. Keep your seat belt fastened throughout the flight. Every inch of loose seat belt increases the force of gravity during a fall by three times. Therefore, it is better to fasten your seat belt as tightly as possible while on board the aircraft.

   • Slide the belt as low as possible so that it is in the pelvic area. The belt should fit around the ilium so that its top protrusion is above the top edge of the belt. In this case, you will be much better protected than if the belt was in the abdominal area.
   • Do not unfasten your seat belt, even if you are sleeping. If something happens while you're sleeping, you'll be glad your seat belts were fastened.

   Part 2

   Preparing for a collision

   1. Assess the situation. Try to determine what surface the plane will land on so you can prepare accordingly. If the plane hits water, for example, you will need to wear a life jacket, which does not need to be inflated while you are on the plane. If you land in cold water, you should wear a jacket to stay as warm as possible.

      • Divide the flight path by the time flown to determine where you are when you crash. If you're flying exclusively over land, you can be sure you won't fall into the ocean.
      • Use the time before you fall to find a way out. If a plane goes down, you almost always have some time to prepare. Use this time to re-locate the exit.

   2. Prepare your area as much as possible. If you know the plane is going down, return your seat to an upright position and remove any items that could be dangerous if possible. Button up your jacket and make sure your shoes are laced tightly. Then adopt the safety postures used to survive a plane crash and try to remain calm.

      • Another safety position is that your feet should be flat on the floor and slightly further away from your knees (not at a right angle). This will help prevent damage to your legs, which will be useful to you in order to make your way to the exit after the crash. Move your feet under the seat as far as possible to avoid breaking your tibia.

   3. Lean against the front seat. If it is located at arm's length, lean on your hand and place your other hand on top of your palm. Tilt your head towards your hands. Don't intertwine your fingers.

      Try to remain calm. In the moments leading up to the fall, there is panic and turmoil on board. The main thing is not to lose your head and you may increase your chances of survival. Remember that even in the most difficult situation there is a chance of survival. It is necessary to think rationally and methodically to increase this chance.

      If you fall into the water, wear a life jacket, but do not inflate it. If you do decide to inflate it when the cabin begins to fill with water, the life jacket will lift you to the ceiling of the cabin and make it more difficult for you to swim back. Thus you will fall into a trap. Better hold your breath and swim out, when you find yourself outside the plane, you can inflate it.

      Put on your oxygen mask before helping others. You've probably heard this before every flight, but it's still worth repeating. If the interior is breached, you only have 15 seconds or less to put on an oxygen mask before losing consciousness.

   Part 3

   Surviving a Crash

   Protect yourself from smoke. Fire and smoke, as a percentage, cause the greatest number of deaths during a plane crash. Smoke from airplane fires can be very thick and contain many toxic substances, so try to cover your mouth and nose with a tissue to avoid inhaling toxic substances. If possible, wet the handkerchief for added protection.

   • When moving, try to bend down to be below the smoke level. It may not seem like a big deal to you, but one of the most dangerous factors during a crash can be exposure to smoke if you inhale it.

   1. You need to get out of the plane as quickly as possible. According to the National Transportation Safety Administration, 68% of deaths in plane crashes are caused by fire that ignites after the fall. It is very important to leave the plane without delay. If there is already fire or smoke, then you have less than two minutes to leave the aircraft.

      • Make sure the exit you choose is safe. Look out the porthole to see if there is fire or other possible risks beyond the exit. If the exit is not safe, try to find another exit.

   2. Listen to guidance on what to do after the crash. Flight attendants undergo rigorous training, so you can trust that they know what to do in the event of a crash. If a flight attendant is able to help you, listen carefully and cooperate to increase the chances of survival for all passengers.

      Leave your things. Don't try to save your property. This is a simple truth, but there are still people who cannot accept it. Leave it all behind. Trying to save your belongings will only delay you.

      • If you need to save things that are in the area of ​​the plane, take care of it later. Now you need to make sure that you have found a safe escape route and a reliable shelter. Leave now!

   3. You need to move at least 150 meters away from the wreckage. If you get stuck in nearby areas, it's best to wait for rescuers, even though you won't want to stay close. A fire or explosion can be sudden, so you still need to maintain some distance from the aircraft. If you find yourself in open water, swim as far away from the wreckage as possible.

      Stay in one place, but be aware of what is happening. It is indeed very important to remain calm after a crash, but you also need to understand when you need to act and act quickly. Help people who are in distress and provide first aid to injured people.

      • Take care of your wounds if possible. Examine yourself for cuts and abrasions; if necessary, apply pressure to the wound. Try not to move so as not to aggravate internal injuries.
      • Panic can only prevent you from acting effectively and appropriately in the current situation. For example, a passenger can remain in his seat, but needs to move towards the exit. Be attentive to such passengers.

   4. Wait for the rescuers. You will have a better chance of survival if you stay where you are. You shouldn’t look for help and run away somewhere. If your plane goes down, people will probably be on the scene soon and you need to be there to get help. Just stay where you are.

   • Remove sharp objects such as pens, pencils, etc. from your pockets before falling. It will be better if you don’t take them with you at all. Almost every item in the cabin of an airplane can cause death during a crash.
   • If you can find a pillow or something soft to protect your head during a fall, by all means use it.
   • Save your life before helping others!
   • Listen carefully to the instructions and do not think of anything yourself, as this may put your life at risk. Proceed in accordance with the instructions received from the guides. Only get up from your seat when it is safe to do so and you are allowed to leave your seat.
   • If you have a mobile phone, try contacting emergency services for help.
   • It is quite common for passengers to forget how to unfasten their seat belt after a crash. It seems quite easy, but under the circumstances, the first instinct is to tighten the belt, as is the case with car seat belts. It's easy to panic when it doesn't work out. Before you fall, make a mental note of how to unbuckle your seat belt.
   • If you have nothing to wet a handkerchief with to protect your airways from smoke, use urine. This kind of violation of decency is acceptable in emergency situations.
   • Remain in safe areas until the aircraft has come to a complete stop. Usually the main blow is followed by a secondary one.
   • If you don't have time to prepare for a crash or have forgotten some of these tips, you may be able to find the information you need in the passenger advisory located in the front seat pocket.
   • Keep calm.

Of course, the fastest and most comfortable mode of transport of our time is the airplane. Moreover, quite often it is by airliner that passengers can get to the most remote place on the planet, and the journey will take very little time. However, many refuse this option because they consider plane crashes to be a frequent occurrence. And this is not at all surprising, because if you analyze numerous feature films about plane crashes, you can really come to the conclusion that planes crash almost every day and the passengers have practically no chance to survive. In fact, this is, of course, not the case, but this fact is confirmed by numerous survivors of the plane crash. We will present real stories about the lucky ones who managed to escape during plane crashes in this article as a convincing example.

Of course, the airplane was and will be the most convenient and safe form of transport, but even such a powerful and reliable machine should first of all be considered as technology. And as you know, problems can happen with any machine, which leads to emergency situations. According to analytical studies, the main cause of disasters, sad as it may be to admit, is the human factor. After all, technology cannot spoil itself and disable itself; this happens due to the inattention and negligent attitude of a person. If low-quality components were used when assembling the machine, this process was not given due attention, and daily technical inspection was carried out, as they say, in haste, then even the most reliable equipment may sooner or later fail.

Almost all survivors of a plane crash indicate that the car in the sky simply begins to behave somehow incorrectly, and at this time alarming “lights” begin to flash on board, which further escalates the already alarming situation. Experts say that any breakdown in the sky is a defect and specialists need to find it on the ground in order to prevent an emergency from occurring.

Most often, planes crash due to the following reasons:

• malfunctions of the aircraft or individual devices that were not identified during the technical inspection. According to statistics, approximately 23% of plane crashes occur precisely because of this reason, that is, due to ordinary human negligence and inattention;
• errors made by pilots and maintenance personnel;
• unfavorable conditions that can change dramatically along the airliner's route.

There are several other reasons that can lead to a plane crash, for example, terrorism, but this is a completely different topic for discussion. But so as not to create an emergency situation, there are still survivors in almost every accident after a plane crash. What helped them stay alive, what measures they took to save their lives, we will further analyze more carefully.

Names and stories of people who managed to survive plane crashes

Rescuers carry survivors from the scene of a plane crash near Jose Maria Cordova airport in Colombia.

It may seem to many that those who managed to survive the plane crash were simply lucky, that is, they were, as they say, born under a lucky star. In reality, this is not entirely true, because experts, having analyzed more than 2 thousand rescues, came to the conclusion that the survivors of the plane crash were able to save their lives not only because of a favorable combination of circumstances, but also thanks to the knowledge and rules that they took in a timely manner in extreme situation.

This applies to the surviving crew member of the Yugoslav airliner - flight attendant V. Vulovich, who was 22 years old at the time of the accident. Unfortunately, in the history of those who survived, it is not so often possible to find the names of airline crew members, perhaps this is explained by the fact that in such a difficult situation the crew of the airship does not care about their own safety, but devotes all their strength to saving passengers.

And V. Vulovich still managed to miraculously escape from a terrible plane crash in which a passenger plane exploded in the sky due to a bomb on board that was planted by terrorists. This terrible tragedy occurred in 1972, during an air flight from Copenhagen to Zagreb, which was operated by a Yugoslav air carrier. Despite a terrible explosion in the sky, the flight attendant survived the plane crash. According to experts, such an incredible rescue can be explained by the fact that the flight attendant was in the safest place at the time of the explosion - in the middle of the cabin and at a decent distance from the bomb. By luck, the flight attendant who survived the plane crash was in a compartment separated from the body, which fell from a height of 10 thousand km onto the branches of snow-covered trees and thereby softened the blow.

But this is just the first part of the happy story of a Yugoslav flight attendant who miraculously escaped. If it weren’t for the help of a local resident, who, upon seeing the girl, immediately freed her from the wreckage of the plane and took her to the nearest hospital, Vesna Vulovich could have simply frozen to death in the cold forest. The surviving flight attendant, after the plane crashed from such a great height, lay in a coma for more than a month, and after that she still had to wage a desperate fight for her life for almost 1.5 years. The girl was able to withstand serious tests and soon fully recovered both physically and mentally, and her truly “fantastic” jump from a height of 10 thousand km without a parachute was listed in the Guinness Book of Records. The legitimate certificate to the world-famous flight attendant was presented by her idol, Paul McCartney, which brought the heroine to incredible delight.

The story of Cecilia Sichan, a 4-year-old girl

Cecilia Sichan

The story of the next heroine, Cecilia Sichan, took place in 1989 and is actively discussed even today. After all, in this terrible tragedy that happened to the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82, which was serviced by Northwest Airlines, only one passenger out of 154 people on board was able to survive - a 4-year-old little girl from America.

Cecilia went on an air trip with her parents. The problem that caused the plane crash showed itself on takeoff - the pilot was unable to turn the steering wheel correctly, as a result of which the left plane of the wing caught the lighting mast, and a terrible flame instantly engulfed the wing. Air transport changed the flight path, which led to the crash and explosion of the plane. The airliner fell onto the highway, and a terrible explosion followed immediately. Experts found the wreckage of the car and the mutilated bodies of those on board half a mile from the crash site.

Medics and fire services arrived at the scene of the tragedy immediately, but the horror of the picture that presented itself made it clear that there was no one to save in this place. However, the children's crying, which came from the wreckage of the plane, led the rescuers to real amazement. Firefighter D. Tied was the first to rush to the child’s voice. Seeing a small hand reaching out of the rubble, the fireman carefully took out the victim and carefully handed her over to the doctors.

Of course, during the crash the girl received numerous injuries to both her head and limbs, and her body was also severely burned. But despite everything, this little traveler was the only one who managed to survive the terrible tragedy. For a complete recovery, the girl had to undergo several operations, including 4 skin grafts. Her aunt and uncle began to take care of Cecilia. As soon as the girl grew up, she decided to get an airliner tattoo on her arm as a constant reminder of the terrible and at the same time happy day in her life. Today, Cecilia continues to use modern aircraft, and when asked frequently whether you are afraid of air travel, she answers jokingly, “No, I’m not afraid, since a shell certainly doesn’t hit the same place twice.”

Russian accident

The tragedy with the An-24 plane, which was transporting 38 passengers from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to Blagoveshchensk, has been discussed all over the world for a long time. After all, the survivors of the plane crash were not counted in dozens or even just a few - in this terrible disaster that happened in 1981, only one 20-year-old passenger, L. Savitskaya, was able to survive, who was returning home with her husband after a honeymoon. The name of the surviving passenger was included in the Guinness Book of Records, more than once:

1. For surviving a fall without a parachute from a height of more than 5 thousand km.
2. For receiving the very minimum compensation, in the amount of 75 rubles, which is paid by the state as damage to all victims.
3. She also collected many domestic awards from the authorities.

The cause of the plane crash was a collision with a bomber. Of course, the An-24, which is small in size, could not withstand the terrible impact and simply fell into pieces high in the sky. At the time of the collision, the happy passenger was resting in her seat, wearing a seat belt. She was brought out of her sleep by a severe burn caused by the fire, which was rapidly gaining strength due to depressurization.

Larisa was familiar with the rules of safe flight, so she did not unfasten her seat belts and sank into her seat as much as possible. As the girl will later explain, the plot of the film from the Italian directors “Miracles Still Happen” helped her survive, in which the main character was able to survive thanks to a fastened belt and the correct body position. The part of the plane the girl was in fell onto tree branches, which significantly softened the fall, which lasted about 8 minutes. After landing, Larisa lost consciousness, but after a while she woke up on her own, went down into the birch forest and even built a shelter for herself for a safe overnight stay. It took rescue teams 48 hours to find the lucky passenger, whose name had already been added to the list of dead.

This is not at all surprising, because those who arrived at the scene of the tragedy could not find a single survivor; there were only burnt bodies and plane wreckage around. The girl had serious head and back injuries; for a full recovery she needed to undergo several operations, which Larisa was able to cope with 100%.

Erica Delgado's Story

Erica Delgado

Many were worried about the recovery of 9-year-old, the only surviving passenger on the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-14, Erica Delgado. The air transport carried 47 passengers on board to Bogota from Cartagena. Only Erica managed to escape death. The cause of the plane crash was a breakdown of the altimeter, as a result of which the plane was unable to land safely and simply crashed in a swampy area.

The girl was on board with her parents and brother; according to her, she was pushed out of the plane, which literally began to fall apart before her eyes, by the hands of her mother. Literally a few seconds later the air transport was engulfed in flames and a terrible explosion occurred. Erica fell on the seaweed, but she could not get out of the swamp on her own. According to the girl, within a few minutes local residents arrived at the scene of the tragedy, but not to save the victims, but for the purpose of profit. According to Erica, they ignored her pleas for help, but the looters quickly tore the gold jewelry from her neck and hurried away. But her rescuer turned out to be a local farmer, who, having heard the child’s cry, hurried to the girl’s aid. Surprisingly, in such a terrible accident, Erica escaped with only a broken arm.

More stories from Russia

When the Russian Yak-42 plane crashed on the route Yaroslavl - Minsk in 2011, there were two survivors. The plane was supposed to deliver a hockey team to Minsk; after the air transport crashed, rescuers found two survivors - the athlete A. Galimov and A. Sizov, the flight engineer of the crashed aircraft. Unfortunately, the efforts of doctors did not help save the life of the hockey player, as he received serious burns to his body that were incompatible with life. The flight engineer was much luckier; despite numerous fractures and bruises, Alexander was able to fully regain his strength and did not even give up aviation. Of course, the flight engineer does not agree to work in the air, but he very carefully checks each aircraft for technical serviceability before departure.

Experts say that it is quite possible to save your life in a plane crash; the most important thing is that passengers must know about the rules of safe flight, use this knowledge in an emergency, remain calm even in a seemingly hopeless situation, and strictly adhere to instructions from crew members. You definitely need to soberly assess the current situation and slowly make the right decision.

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On July 7, an Air Canada passenger plane flying from Toronto mistakenly headed not onto the runway, but onto the taxiway, where four other airliners were at that moment. The controllers managed to stop the pilot in time, give the command to go around, after which the plane landed safely on the correct runway.

According to the head of Aero Consulting Experts and former United Airlines pilot Ross Eimer, the incident threatened to become the largest disaster in aviation history: “Imagine a huge Airbus crashing into four passenger airliners with full tanks.”

Let's remember the most famous and unusual cases of survival in plane crashes.
Boeing 777 crash in San Francisco

On July 6, 2013, a Boeing 777 crashed in San Francisco. The Asiana Airlines Boeing 777-28EER was flying OZ-214 on the Seoul-San Francisco route, but when landing at San Francisco airport, it crashed into an embankment in front of the runway and collapsed.

The NTSB commission blamed the cause of the crash on the erroneous actions of the crew: the plane was descending too quickly. The pilots noticed that the rate of descent and airspeed were not adequate when the aircraft was 60 meters from the ground, but did not take action for a missed approach. More precisely, 1.5 seconds before the collision the crew decided to go around, but there was no longer an opportunity for this.


The impact tore off the plane's tail and left engine; the fuselage slid along the runway for about 600 meters and described an almost complete circle - it was turned 330 degrees.


Of the 307 people on board (291 passengers and 16 crew members), 3 schoolgirls died (two at the scene of the disaster, one died in the hospital), 187 people were injured. “Only three people” - it’s hard to believe when looking at the photographs of the wrecked liner.


This plane crash showed that serious damage to an aircraft does not mean large casualties. There is another interesting circumstance: contrary to the popular theory that the safest seats are in the back of the plane, all three crash victims were sitting there.

The cabin of flight 214 after the disaster:


Miracle in Toronto 2005

It was a high-profile case when all the people survived a completely destroyed liner.

On August 2, 2005, an Air France A340 aircraft, operating flight AFR358 on the Paris-Toronto route, crashed near Toronto International Airport. There were 12 crew members and 297 passengers on board.


The approach was carried out in difficult weather conditions with large thunderstorms over the airport in heavy rain and lightning flashes on the runway. The landing was carried out in manual mode with the autopilot and autothrottle disabled.


Having flown over the end of the runway significantly higher than set, the airliner landed more than a third from the beginning of the runway length. The pilots applied reverse, but were unable to stop within the runway, as a result of which the plane left the runway and rolled into a ravine. A fire broke out, which in a few minutes engulfed the airliner and destroyed it, but all 309 people on board were evacuated in time.

The evacuation of 309 people took less than 2 minutes, which many, including Canadian Transport Minister Jean Lapierre, later called a “miracle.”


Survive falling from 5 km height

Young student Larisa Savitskaya and her husband Vladimir were returning from their honeymoon. On August 24, 1981, the An-24 plane on which the Savitsky spouses were flying collided with a Tu-16 military bomber at an altitude of 5220 m. After the collision, the crews of both aircraft died. As a result of the collision, the An-24 lost wings with fuel tanks and the top of the fuselage. The remaining part broke several times during the fall.

Passenger aircraft An-24:


At the time of the disaster, Larisa Savitskaya was sleeping in her seat at the rear of the plane. I woke up from a strong blow and a sudden burn (the temperature instantly dropped from 25 °C to? 30 °C). After another break in the fuselage, which passed right in front of her seat, Larisa was thrown into the aisle, waking up, she reached the nearest seat, climbed in and pressed herself into it, without having buckled herself in. Larisa herself subsequently claimed that at that moment she remembered an episode from the film “Miracles Still Happen,” where the heroine squeezed into a chair during a plane crash and survived.

Bomber Tu-16K:


Part of the plane's body landed on a birch grove, which softened the blow. According to subsequent studies, the entire fall of the plane fragment measuring 3 meters wide by 4 meters long, where Savitskaya ended up, took 8 minutes. Savitskaya was unconscious for several hours. Waking up on the ground, Larisa saw in front of her a chair with the body of her dead husband. She received a number of serious injuries, but could move independently.

Two days later, she was discovered by rescuers, who were very surprised when, after two days of coming across only the bodies of the dead, they met a living person. She later learned that a grave had already been dug for both her and her husband. She was the only survivor of 38 people on board. The causes of the aircraft collision were unsatisfactory organization and management of flights in the area of ​​the Zavitinsk airfield.

Larisa Savitskaya was twice included in the Russian edition of the Guinness Book of Records:

like a person who survived a fall from a maximum height,
as a person who received the minimum amount of compensation for physical damage - 75 rubles. According to Gosstrakh standards in the USSR, 300 rubles were required. compensation for damages for the dead and 75 rubles. for survivors of plane crashes.
Larisa Savitskaya with her son Georgy.


Survive falling from a height of 10 km without a parachute

The DC-9 crash over Hermsdorf was an aircraft accident that occurred on January 26, 1972. The McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 airliner of Yugoslav Airlines was operating flight JAT367 on the route Stockholm - Copenhagen - Zagreb - Belgrade, but 46 minutes after departure from Copenhagen the liner exploded in the air. According to some reports, a Croatian group of extremists left a bomb in the luggage compartment of the airliner.

JAT DC-9-32, identical to the one blown up:


The explosion of the airliner occurred over the German city of Hermsdorf, and the wreckage of the plane fell near the city of Ceska Kamenice (Czechoslovakia). Of the 28 people on board (23 passengers and 5 crew members), only one survived - 22-year-old flight attendant Vesna Vulovich, who fell without a parachute from a height of 10,160 meters. She is the holder of the world altitude record for surviving a free fall without a parachute, according to the Guinness Book of Records.

Vesna was in a coma and received many injuries: fractures of the base of the skull, three vertebrae, both legs and the pelvis. The treatment took 16 months, of which for 10 months the girl’s lower body was paralyzed (from the waist to the legs).


Miracle on the Hudson: A320 Emergency Landing

This aircraft accident occurred on January 15, 2009. The US Airways Airbus A320-214 was operating flight AWE 1549 on the route New York-Charlotte-Seattle, and there were 150 passengers and 5 crew members on board. 1.5 minutes after takeoff, the plane collided with a flock of birds and both engines failed. Commander Chesley Sullenberger, a former US Air Force pilot, decided that the only option to save the 155 people on board was to land on the Hudson River. The splashdown turned out to be successful.


The crew landed the plane safely on the waters of the Hudson River in New York. All 155 people on board survived, 83 people were injured - 5 seriously (one flight attendant was the most injured) and 78 minor.

In the media, the incident is known as the “Miracle on the Hudson.” In total, 11 cases of controlled forced landings of passenger airliners on water are known; this case is the fourth without casualties.

By the way, yesterday, July 17, 2017, a Ural Airlines plane (flight U6-2932 Simferopol - Yekaterinburg) collided with a flock of birds, resulting in damage to the nose cone. It would seem like such a colossus and some birds, but... the plane ended up being repaired for 12 hours.

Here's what a bird strike looks like from the pilot's seat and from outside:


Tu-124 landing on the Neva

This splashdown event occurred in Soviet aviation in the skies over Leningrad on August 21, 1963. As a result of a combination of circumstances, the engines of the Tu-124 passenger plane failed, and the airliner began gliding from a height of half a kilometer above the city center. The crew had no choice but to try to splash down on the surface of the Neva. All 52 people on board survived.

Initially, the commission investigating the circumstances of the accident placed responsibility for the emergency on the crew. But later it was decided not to punish the pilots.


Il-12 splashdown in Kazan

And 10 years earlier, on April 30, 1953, an Il-12 P aircraft from Aeroflot operated flight 35 on the route Moscow - Kazan - Novosibirsk. There were 18 passengers and 5 crew members on board. At 21:37, at the moment when the airliner, preparing to land in Kazan, was flying over the Volga, a very strong impact occurred. The crew members recalled that their vision darkened. Both engines lost power and flames appeared from the exhaust pipes.

Aeroflot IL-12:


The ship's commander decided to make an emergency splashdown. The IL-12 splashed down in the area of ​​the Kazan river port, after which the car began to rapidly fill with river water. the evacuation could not be carried out in time. The crew told passengers that the plane splashed down in shallow water, which is why many were concerned about taking personal belongings. In fact, the depth of the river in this place reached about 20 meters. As a result, people who had put on outerwear ended up in the water and began to drown. Of the 22 people, one passenger drowned. The investigation commission found that the cause of the emergency was a collision between the plane and a flock of ducks.

Miracle in the Andes

On October 13, 1972, an FH-227 plane crash occurred, which was called the “Miracle in the Andes.” The Uruguayan Air Force Fairchild FH-227D was operating charter flight FAU 571 on the Montevideo-Mendoza-Santiago route, carrying 5 crew members and 40 passengers (members of the Old Cristians rugby team, their relatives and sponsors). While approaching Santiago, the airliner was caught in a cyclone, crashed into a rock and crashed at the foot of the mountain.

Aircraft Fairchild FH-227D board T-571:


The survivors had minimal food supplies and no heat sources necessary to survive in the harsh cold climate at an altitude of 3,600 meters. Desperate from hunger and a radio message that “all efforts to find the missing plane are being stopped,” people began to eat the frozen bodies of their dead comrades. Rescuers learned about the survivors only after 72 days...


12 passengers died when they fell and collided with a rock, another 5 died later from wounds and cold. Then, of the remaining 28 survivors, 8 more died in an avalanche that covered their “home” from the fuselage of the plane, and later three more died from their wounds.

Boeing 737 accident over Kahului

This accident occurred on April 28, 1988. The Aloha Airlines Boeing 737-297 was operating domestic flight AQ 243 on the Hilo-Honolulu route, with 6 crew members and 89 passengers on board. But 23 minutes after takeoff, a significant part of the fuselage structure in the nose suddenly tore off the plane. According to the report, the causes of the accident were metal corrosion, poor epoxy bonding of fuselage parts, and rivet fatigue.


94 out of 95 people survived. Senior flight attendant Clarabelle Lansing died - at the moment a part of the fuselage was torn off, she was in the middle of the plane, and she was thrown out by the air flow. Search teams could not find her body, as well as the torn off fragment of the fuselage, about 5.4 meters long.