Girl Falls 10,000 Feet From Plane And Leaves The Rescue Team Speechless
Teenager Juliane Koepcke didn't watch her life flash before her eyes as she plummeted 10,000 feet towards dense jungle terrain. That's because she was knocked unconscious, at the complete and total mercy of the storm that put her into that position to begin with. When she came to, somehow alive, a new mission not on her initial travel itinerary crystallized: find mom and find rescue — or die.
Juliane's Journey
In 1971, German citizen and respected South American bird researcher Maria Koepcke planned a holiday vacation with her 17-year old daughter, Juliane. Leaving from Peru, their itinerary was simple — but it turned completely deadly.
Family Time
Maria (left) planned to meet up with her husband (right) for Christmas, so she booked tickets on the Peruvian airline Lineas Aéreas Nacionales S.A., or LANSA. A time before Yelp and Google reviews, the ornithologist didn't know the airline's reputation.
Bad Omen
See, during the '60s and '70s, LANSA was the fastest way to travel from one Peruvian city to another; however, despite offering frequent flights, the airline was plagued with fatal mishaps.
Infamy
In 1966, for instance, LANSA Flight 501 careened into a mountain, killing all on board. A few years later, LANSA Flight 502 crashed. Of the 100 passengers, only one survived, and the crash took the lives of two more people on the ground.
