Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Sole Survivor of '71 Jungle Crash Recounts Ordeal

Teen girl fell 2 miles from sky, trekked 10 days out of Amazon

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 3, 2009 1:57 AM CDT

(Newser) – The miraculous survival of a sole passenger in the Indian Ocean plane crash this week brought back some painful memories for German librarian Juliane Koepke, CNN reports. Koepke, then 17, was the sole survivor of a 1971 crash in the Amazon rainforest. She plummeted more than two miles strapped to a seat, and awoke the next day injured and alone deep in the Peruvian jungle.

The crash killed the other 95 people on board, including Koepke's mother, a famous zoologist. The pair had been en route to her father's Amazon research station. Koepke, using survival skills learned from her parents, followed creeks and rivers away from the crash site, sometimes wading through waters infested with crocodiles and piranhas. After 10 days the starving girl found a hut on the river and was rescued by lumberjacks.

[Images (1)]

[Videos (1)]

[Quotes (1)]

Juliane Koepcke spent 10 days finding her way out of the Amazon rainforest after she survived a 1971 plane crash that killed her mother. (Shutterstock)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Juliane Koepcke describes her Amazon ordeal in a 2000 documentary made by Werner Herzog. (YouTube)

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

It just horrifies me. I only hope it all went quickly for those on board.
- Juliane Koepke, on her reaction to airplane disasters

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

CEO of Chip-Maker Micron Killed in Plane Crash

Steve Appleton's experimental aircraft goes down

(AP) - A small experimental plane piloted by the chief executive and chairman of Micron Technology crashed after take-off today at the Boise airport, killing the head of the memory chip company. Steve Appleton, a stunt pilot who survived a similar crash in 2004, was 51. Micron is one of many companies that make semiconductor chips for various devices, including computers, mobile devices, cameras, cars, and industrial systems. It makes products under the Lexar and Crucial brands. More»

2011 on Track to Be Airlines' Safest Year Ever

But experts warn that we must keep working on safety

(NEWSER) - Assuming nothing terrible happens between now and Saturday, 2011 will close as the safest year ever for commercial aviation. For every 7.1 million fliers around the globe, there was about one passenger death, which will break the previous record of one per 6.4 million, set in 2004. But experts warn that we must continue to improve safety around the world, rather than be lulled into complacency by this year's numbers. Ground safety and pilot training are two areas to focus on, as well as increasing awareness of flight hazards in certain developing countries, the Wall Street Journal notes. More»

Riskiest Part of Flight Might Now Be on Ground

With skies safe, officials turn their attention to 'surface threats' on runways

(NEWSER) - "America's skies are the safest they have ever been," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told reporters this week, and the stats back him up: Deaths from accidents in US commercial aviation have plummeted over the last 15 years, with none registered at all in 2011. Aviation officials say they are now turning their attention toward somewhere potentially much deadlier than the skies for commercial aircraft: the ground, and specifically, the runway. More»

Family of 4 Dead After Plane Hits Highway

Another man also was aboard in New Jersey

(NEWSER) - Icing may have played a role in the crash of a small plane today on a New Jersey highway. All five people aboard were killed: Two New York City investment bankers, plus the wife and two children of one of the men, reports the Star-Ledger . The pilot, one of the bankers, had spoken briefly to an air traffic controller just before the crash about icing, though it's unclear as yet whether he was reporting a problem or making a general inquiry about conditions, notes AP . More»

Russia Now World's Most Dangerous Nation to Fly

Series of deadly crashes blamed on lax regulation

(NEWSER) - Russia is now, mile for mile, the deadliest place in the world to fly, the Wall Street Journal finds. Nine fatal crashes—including one that killed an entire professional hockey team —have claimed a total of 140 lives. While eight of the crashes involved old Soviet-era aircraft, experts say the real problem in the former aerospace superpower is the sloppiness, risk-taking, and ineffective regulation more commonly associated with aviation basket cases like the Congo. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Sole Survivor of '71 Jungle Crash Recounts Ordeal