Juliane Koepcke

Born

1954-10-10

Birthplace

Lima, Perú

Biography

Juliane Margaret Koepcke is a German-Peruvian biologist, born in Peru to German expatriates, who was the only survivor of 92 passengers and crew in the 24 December 1971 crash of LANSA Flight 508 in the Peruvian rainforest. When the airliner broke up in mid-air, she survived after plummeting about 3 km (~10,000 feet) while still strapped to her seat, before crashing through the rain forest canopy and coming to rest on the forest floor.