Even though air travel has become increasingly safe in the last couple of decades, (you are more likely to get into a road accident than be in a plane crash), the fear of an airplane crashing is always lurking inside us, each time we board an airplane. With almost zero survival rates, airplane crashes are the biggest disasters in the aviation industry, and rarely someone survives one to tell their story. However, way back in 1971, a just graduated Juliane Koepcke, survived a deadly plane crash and is still alive to tell her story...
Going back in timeBorn in 1954, Juliane Koepcke is a German-Peruvian mammalogist who specialises in bats. Born to German zoologists Maria and Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke, Juliane, at the age of 14, left Lima with her parents to establish the Panguana research station in the Amazon rainforest, from where she learned survival skills, which literally saved her life years later.
Ill-fated flightOn 24 December 1971, Koepcke flew on LANSA Flight 508 after her graduation. Her mother was accompanying her, and due to Christmas, all flights were booked, except one with LANSA. Known for its poor reputation, and below par safety standards, Koepcke's father was not keen on them taking that flight, but they had no option. Mid-air, their worst fear came true, when the plane was struck by lightning, and began to disintegrate before plummeting 10,000 ft to the ground.
What happened next?Koepcke, who was wearing her seatbelt and had a window seat, found herself plummeting to the ground, intact in her seat. Her fall was partially broken with thick foliage at the landing site, as she fell deep into the Amazon rainforest. However, she ended up with a broken collarbone, a deep cut on her right arm, an eye injury and concussion. For the next 11 days, she survived in the deep forest, waiting to be rescued, battling insect bites and infestations. However, her survival skills paid off, and she was eventually airlifted to a hospital. 14 others too survived the crash, but died while waiting to be rescued. Later, Koepcke helped the authorities identify many bodies, including that of her mother.
Later, Koepcke returned to her parents' native Germany, where she fully recovered from her physical injuries. She then went on to study biology like her parents, receiving a doctorate from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.
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