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September 12, 2026Short & citedBlog
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People File • Survivor

Juliane Koepcke

Juliane Koepcke is a German-Peruvian mammalogist and biologist known for being the sole survivor of the 1971 LANSA Flight 508 crash in Peru.

Updated September 12, 20261 min readCited sources

Juliane Koepcke is a German-Peruvian mammalogist who survived the 1971 LANSA Flight 508 crash. She spent 11 days alone in the Amazon rainforest before being rescued.

Early life

Juliane Koepcke was born in Lima, Peru, on 10 October 1954 to German zoologists Maria and Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke. Her family background strongly influenced her later scientific career.

The crash and survival

On 24 December 1971, Koepcke was a passenger on LANSA Flight 508 when a lightning strike caused the aircraft to break apart. She fell while strapped to her seat and was the sole survivor. She then survived 11 days alone in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest before finding a lumberjack camp.

Scientific career

Koepcke later studied biology and became a mammalogist specialising in bats. She worked with the Zoological State Collection in Munich and continued research on tropical mammals, building a career grounded in her early life in Peru.

In short

  • Sole survivor of 1971 LANSA Flight 508
  • Survived 11 days alone in the Amazon rainforest
  • Became a mammalogist specialising in bats
  • Born in Lima, Peru to German zoologists

Quick questions

Who is Juliane Koepcke?
She is a German-Peruvian biologist and mammalogist best known as the sole survivor of LANSA Flight 508.
What happened during the crash?
Her plane broke apart after a lightning strike, and she fell with her seat into the Amazon rainforest, surviving the impact.
What did she do later in life?
She became a biologist and mammalogist, focusing on bats and tropical wildlife.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_Koepcke
    Supports: Birth date and place, German-Peruvian identity, sole survival of LANSA Flight 508, 11 days in the Amazon, scientific career.
  2. Wikipedia (German) — https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_Koepcke
    Supports: Biographical details, scientific roles, survival of the crash, injuries, and later work.
  3. Wikipedia (Spanish) — https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliane_Koepcke
    Supports: Birth data, German-Peruvian zoologist identity, and status as sole survivor of the LANSA 508 accident.
  4. BBC News — https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17476615
    Supports: Her account of surviving the plane crash and being alone in the jungle.
  5. VICE — https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-woman-who-fell-to-earth-508-v17n9/
    Supports: Biographical context, family background, and the sequence of survival and reunion with her father.