The Girl Who Fell from the Sky

Juliane Koepcke was just 17 years old at the time of her near-death experience. Juliane was born and raised in Lima, Peru, where she lived the life of a typical high school girl while being a German citizen. Juliane and her family were no strangers to travel since both of her parents were scientists who had built a research station in the Peruvian jungle. Her father, Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke, was a scientist who worked in the city of Pucallpa at the time. With Christmas just around the corner, Juliane and her mother decided to fly from Lima to spend the holidays with him in the middle of the Amazon jungle.

Juliane subsequently stated that her mother had planned to travel down a few days earlier, but Juliane had persuaded her to book them a ticket on Christmas Eve instead. Juliane had some good reasons for postponing the journey, but she would later regret her decision. This was especially true given the fact that she had no idea the plan would backfire so badly. The dates of a school dance and her high school graduation were two days before Christmas Eve. So, knowing how important the two occasions were to Juliane, her mother agreed that taking a trip on Christmas Eve sounded just as legitimate as taking a journey on any other day.

The Beginning of a Nightmare:

Then came the moment that would permanently transform Juliane's life:

"I see a blinding white light over the right-wing," she describes in her own words. "I don't know whether it's a flash of lightning or an explosion. I lose all sense of time. The aeroplane begins to nosedive. From my seat in the back, I can see down the aisle into the cockpit. My ears, my head, my whole body are filled with the deep roar of the plane. Over everything, I hear my mother say calmly, 'Now it's all over.'"

It's difficult to imagine a sound more horrifying than a plane spiralling into its disaster, yet that's precisely what Juliane heard next. As the cries of her fellow passengers faded into frightening quiet, everything fell silent. Juliane looked around and saw that she was still falling, but she was no longer on the plane. Her seat had come free and gotten pulled out into the air, even though she was still strapped in.

As you might expect, her seatbelt was still feverishly attempting to do its job, but it only succeeded in suffocating her so severely that she passed out. She was still falling when she awakened a few seconds later. She could see the Peruvian jungle treetops below her as she hurtled towards their depths, undoubtedly sure that they'd be her last destination. Juliane had an angel watching out for her that day, but it appears that she had other intentions. She wasn't in great shape when she awoke, but the fact that she survived is nothing short of a miracle.

Into the Jungle:

She had a fractured collarbone, a major cut in her leg, and a concussion that made all the others look like a birthday party in comparison when she eventually started to regain consciousness. She was so disoriented that she had to spend the remainder of the day and night lying down. When she could stand and walk about a little, she attempted to recollect all her parents had taught her about survival in the forest, which was, fortunately, quite a bit.

She looked for any sign of civilisation for 11 days, eating nothing but a little bag of sweets she found in the debris. The only thing that saved her was a tiny brook that transformed into a river. She remembered her father telling her to always follow a river downstream since that's where the people were. She hiked, swam, or simply floated along its bank for more than a week. Juliane would frequently see or hear planes or helicopters looking for the downed plane overhead to make matters worse. Unfortunately, none of them could see her because of the dense forest canopy.

Fortunately, she did not lose up hope and eventually came across a little cottage. It turned out to be the property of three missionaries who would transport her to a hospital. She subsequently found out that she was the lone survivor of the plane crash and went on to write the fantastic memoir "When I Fell From the Sky."

In 1998, filmmaker Werner Herzog created a film called Wings of Hope on her remarkable storey of survival, and he had a ticket reserved on that exact aircraft before cancelling at the last minute.

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