Juliane Koepcke

Profession: Mammalogist and Sole Survivor of the 1971 LANSA Flight 508 Plane Crash

Nationality:

Biography: Juliane Koepcke is a German-Peruvian mammalogist whose specialty is bats, but she is best known as the sole survivor of the LANSA Flight 508 crash in 1971. The plane was struck by lightning and Koepcke, still strapped to her seat, fell into the Amazon rainforest from 3,000m. She spent 11 days in the rainforest but was rescued after being found by local fisherman.

Prior to the crash, she had worked with her parents—the German zoologists, Maria Koepcke and Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke—to set up the Panguana research station. This proved crucial after the crash, as she had to survive injured in the rainforest for 11 days. She eventually found a fishing encampment and set up there, was rescued when the fishermen returned.

Koepcke wrote and published an autobiography in 2019, titled Als ich vom Himmel fiel: Wie mir der Dschungel mein Leben zurückgab ("When I Fell from the Sky: How the Jungle Gave Me My Life Back"). Her story was also portrayed by Werner Herzog in the documentary, Wings of Hope (1998).

Born: October 10, 1954
Birthplace: Lima, Peru
Age: 69 years old

Generation: Baby Boomer
Chinese Zodiac: Horse
Star Sign: Libra