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The winter holidays almost always bring people together. Whether it be to share a meal, exchange gifts, or catch up with loved ones, there’s always something magical about the holiday season.
For one family, the holidays meant reuniting with their father. Maria Mikulicz-Radecki and her daughter were planning to catch a flight to Peru on Christmas Eve to see her husband Hans-Wilhelm. Unfortunately, that flight never made it to Peru…
German Researchers
Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke and Maria Mikulicz-Radecki met at the University of Kiel. After graduation, they relocated to Peru to study the plants and animals there. Shortly after their move, they got married and even published several books together. Life was pretty great, until…
Welcome, Juliane
Hans and Maria welcomed their daughter, Juliane Margaret Beate Koepcke on October 10th, 1954. As an only child, Juliane pretty much got everything her little heart desired…
Growing Up Wild
Juliane’s childhood was unique. She went on many a research trip with her parents and wildlife really interested her. Living in Lima, she learned a lot about the environment and the jungle there…
Juliane at 17
When Juliane reached 17, it had been quite a while since she saw her father. She and her mom planned to visit him for Christmas but little did they know, this reunion plan would never happen…
Attending Graduation
Maria planned to head to Peru a few days before Christmas to avoid the travel chaos, but it was Juliane’s graduation ceremony, something they didn’t want to miss…
Flights Were Booked
Because it was such a busy time of year to fly, they had a hard time finding an open flight to Pucallpa. The only available option was a Peruvian airline that didn’t have the greatest track record…
Booking the Flight
They took the risk, believing that getting to their husband and father for Christmas was important. Little did they know, it would cost them everything…
Their flight was set to take off on December 24th, 1971 at the Jorge Chávez International Airport. It was a bit delayed and they worried they were pushing it trying to get to Hans in time for Christmas…
Taking Off
Finally, after delaying for hours, they boarded the flight for takeoff. Everything was fine for the first few minutes—all 91 passengers and crew sat back and waited to arrive at the destination, but then the sky got dark…
The Storm
When the plane was 35 minutes from landing, everyone on board began to feel uneasy. While the conditions were dangerous, the crew wanted to get the passengers to their destination for the holiday, so they continued on, in the dangerous conditions…
Worsening Conditions
At 21,000 ft the lights went out on the plane, and while it seemed like normal turbulence, things only got worse. The overhead compartments opened and luggage began to fall onto passengers…
Nosedive
The storm grew rough and the pilots lost control of the plane. Maria looked out the window and saw a lightning bolt strike the fuel tank, starting a fire on board and stripping the right wing clear off the plane. The flight suddenly took a nosedive…
Waiting Game
This whole time, Hans had been waiting at the airport for the arrival of his wife and daughter. As time passed by he, along with the other waiting family members of the other passengers, grew very uneasy…
Shock
Later that night, Hans returned home in utter disbelief. The plane had crashed, and Hans felt hopeless. But this wouldn’t be the end…
Searching
Hans was distraught. He didn’t sleep for days knowing that somewhere in the Amazon jungle his wife and daughter were dead or alive. A search party had begun, but the weather was still treacherous and Hans was unsure if they would make any progress…
LANSA Flight 508
The plane had crashed at 21,000 feet, leaving very little hope that there were any survivors after the accident. The joy of the holidays had been completely stripped away…
Worse Case Scenario
While planes can dodge thunderbolts, this accident was one of the worst reported cases ever. Regardless, the conditions were too dangerous for them to be flying 91 passengers…
Protesting
People began to protest against the airline. WIth three recent crashes now under its belt, there was a huge problem that needed to be uncovered…
Searching the Rainforest
The search party began to look for the crash site, but the dense Amazon rainforest made the search difficult. Hans had lost everything that day—nothing would change this horrible reality, at least, that’s what he first believed…
Investigating the Crash
An investigation began after the crash and found the airline guilty for what had happened. The plane used was not to be flown in such hazardous conditions and when the lightning struck, the plane could not withstand the blow…
Shutting Them Down
There was evidence of neglect in this situation. Being that the pilots and airline personnel knew the weather was too dangerous, and yet, given the pressure from the airline to stay on schedule, the flight continued on anyways, this airline would be no more…
The Wreck
When she realized the plane was going down, Maria said to her daughter “this is it.” Those were the last words she would say to her. The plane broke off into pieces and the pieces spread over 10,000 ft of land…
Bracing for Impact
The air pressure was so strong as she fell that she couldn’t even open her eyes. Suddenly, there was a change in air pressure and Juliane felt herself crash through the treetops, seat still attached to her…
Alive
Juliane awoke 24 hours later. She had fallen from 10,000 ft and somehow survived. She had a broken collarbone among other injuries, but she was alive, and it was a miracle…
Alone in the Jungle
Sure, she survived a mid-air plane crash, but now, the real challenge would begin. She was alone in the rainforest, she couldn’t see well since she had lost her glasses, and she was cold, wet, and hurting all over. How on earth would she make it out of here…
Looking for Mom
She spent the entire day looking for her mother, praying she was alive, too. She called her name as loud as she could, but with her eyesight hindered, it was difficult to see anything in the middle of the jungle…
Through the Forest
To scare off any wildlife she might encounter, she would toss her shoe ahead of her as she continued to search for her mom. But after a while, this search seemed like it would be unsuccessful…
The Painful Truth
After searching for a full day, the reality that her mother might have died hit her. She knew she had only one job now and that was to survive…
Alone, But Prepared
Juliane was raised in the jungles of Peru, and luckily her parents had taught her a whole lot about survival techniques. Just a few years prior she spent months at a research station location just 30 miles from where she was currently wandering…
No Tools
Unfortunately, Juliane had no tools with her and her clothing was not ideal for the jungle and all the insects that lived there. This wasn’t ideal for her survival…
The Secrets of the Forest
Being stuck in the Peruvian Amazon had tons of surprises. As she wandered, she found that the animals weren’t afraid of her, and this was troubling…
No Rest
The forest was a dangerous place. It was covered with fire ants and mosquitoes that she just couldn’t escape. Her open wounds were a feast for the terrible insects she encountered…
The Crash Site
After four days of walking, she happened upon a piece of the crash. Dead passengers were trapped under the remains. She located a package of lollipops and continued on her way, too heartbroken to stick around…
The Trickle of Water
RIght after walking through the crash site, she heard a beautiful sound: water. She was desperate for a drink but she also knew that animals are often found at watering holes, and she was about to find out her instincts were right…
Follow the Water
Her father has taught her to follow the water. Typically, civilization was near water sources as well, so she followed along the body of water until she had to cross it…
Wading Through
She used a stick to poke around in the water ahead of her to prevent stings from eels and other creatures below the surface, but the dirty water was making her wounds worse…
Attracting the Enemy
Juliane worried her open wounds would attract predators like piranhas, but luckily the water was moving too quickly for them to get to her. She got to the other side and continued her journey. It was over a week since she had last seen another human…
No Fear
Along her way, she encountered a crocodile, but the croc didn’t even react to her presence. She knew this was normal, though, as animals that have never encountered human life don’t attack without being provoked. Up ahead of the croc, however, she thought she saw a boat…
Taking a Toll
After ten days in the jungle, she had found a boat. But instead of taking the boat, she simply used the gasoline to disinfect her wounds. She started walking again and not long after she came across a hut…
Lost in the Details
Juliane was growing weak. She waited inside the hut and attempted to catch some frogs to eat, but because she couldn’t see well she wasn’t able to capture any. Luckily for her, she avoided eating a poison dart frog…
Eleven Days Later
After eleven days, three local Peruvians found her in the hut. She told them what had happened and they took care of her. They got on a boat to the nearest village, which was three hours away…
Bittersweet
When she reunited with her father, Juliane was overcome with emotion. With her help, the authorities located the crash site to find that she was the sole survivor. Unfortunately, 14 others survived the crash but did not survive the jungle…
Falling from the Sky
After the incident, Juliane picked up and moved to Germany for a fresh start. Her father followed along two years later. She has since written an award-winning book called “When I Fell From The Sky.” She pursued a career as a mammologist and now works as a librarian in Munich with her husband.