The Girl Who Fell From the Sky — and Survived
LIFE STORIES
Photo by Aleyna Rentz on Unsplash
“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you once thought you couldn’t.”
— Rikki Rogers
“I could not imagine how she survived until I heard the true story up close and personal. Are we all wired to be a survivalist?”
Why do some people survive even the worst tragedies while others perish? Is surviving catastrophe all about luck — or are there other factors at play? Is it possible to determine who will survive before a disaster strikes? The psychology of survival explores these questions, stressing the mental aspects that determine who prevails in times of crisis.
It has been a topic of interest for centuries, with numerous researchers putting forward their work based on real-life incidents that often leave the world in awe. One such story is Juliane Koepcke Diller — the girl who fell from an airplane for about 3km and landed in the Amazon Rainforest. However, her trials were far from over. She wandered for days in the thick forest despite severe injuries before help arrived.
In 2015 I finished the New York Marathon, 26.2 long, grueling miles with giant blisters and weary legs. Does that make me a survivor? It sure felt like it at the time.
Juliane is a perfect example of a person with resilience. How resilient are you?
If you are wondering if you have survivor instincts read on to learn about the incredible survival story of Juliane Koepcke Diller and what it tells us about the psychology of survival.
What kept Juliane going? Was it simply luck or something else rooted deep in her subconscious?
The girl who fell from the sky — and survived
Juliane Koepcke Diller was born and raised in Lima, Peru, before relocating to the Peruvian rain forest with Maria and Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke when she was 14 years old. Juliane returned to Lima to finish high school after two years of following them on jungle research excursions.
At 17, she boarded a plane with her mother in Lima on December 24, 1971, heading for Pucallpa, the city with the nearest airport to Panguana, to see her father for Christmas. But, according to Juliane, despite her jungle experiences with her parents, she was still just a schoolgirl. So, while her mother wanted to fly to Pucallpa earlier, she insisted on attending a school dance on December 22 and a high school graduation ceremony on December 23.
They decided to take off on December 24, arriving at a crowded airport on Christmas Eve morning. Hundreds of people had gathered at the ticket booths after officials canceled several flights the day before. They assembled for boarding about 11 a.m. and boarded a plane, settling on a three-seat bench in the second-to-last row of the aircraft.
Juliane sat near the window, with her mother beside her. The hour-long trip from Lima to Pucallpa was unremarkable for the first half. However, soon they met a massive rainstorm with lightning flashing in all directions. The plane began to plummet.
However, for Juliane, the screams of the crowd and the boom of the turbines abruptly stop. She was no longer on the plane. Instead, at the height of around 10,000 feet, still strapped onto her bench seat, she found herself racing towards the ground and lost consciousness before panic could fully set in.
Photo by Aleyna Rentz on Unsplash
She landed amid the forest and opened her eyes to the crowns of the enormous trees above her, bathed in golden light, showering everything in a green glow. Then, feeling abandoned, powerless, and completely alone, she found that her mother’s seat next to her was vacant. She had trouble standing up or seeing straight and lay on the forest floor until the haze subsided.
Photo by Cancillería del Perú /Juliane Koepcke Diller
Understanding the psychology of survival
What urged Juliane to carry on and not give in to eternal slumber? Here are the four pillars of the psychology of survival that allow individuals to survive strange circumstances.
1. Knowledge
In his book, Surviving the Extremes — A Doctor’s Journey to the Limits of Human Extremes, Kenneth Kramler explored survival psychology in challenging environmental situations such as the desert, ocean, wilderness, and outer space. In his conclusion, he lists elements that contributed to surviving in difficult circumstances. The first component is knowledge.
Knowledge is power, and it is one of the keys to survival in such situations. Consider it one of the pillars of survival. Fortunately, Juliane had spent enough time in the forest as a kid to be familiar with the bugs and other animals that scamper, rustle, and growl.
There was practically nothing about the forest that her parents hadn’t told her. All she had to do was search her concussion-fogged mind for this information. She knew how to navigate the woods, and it gave her the push to get up and get going.
2. Conditioning
Conditioning is the second element mentioned by Kramler. Again, a solid and better equipped healthy body can withstand the stress of a survival crisis. Thankfully, Juliane had remained in the seat as she landed. Although she sustained significant injuries, including a broken collarbone, she was well enough to walk.
She was overcome with a strong desire to drink water and licked the thick drops of water on the leaves to quench her thirst. Then, to regain her bearings, she recalled the location and markings of one tree. Upon inspecting the area, she found a bag of sweets and consumed a piece. The rush of sugar and water sustained her as she started her journey in the wilderness, searching for civilization.
3. Luck and hope
Kramler determines that the third component necessary for survival is “luck.” There is typically some element of luck in the survival circumstances. However, he does advise against putting too much attention on this element. Fate share a link to knowledge and the capacity to adapt to changing circumstances to some extent.
When things aren’t going well, a little luck might come in handy in a survival situation. However, don’t expect it to compensate for a slew of other flaws. Some other researchers emphasize the element of “hope” as well.
Juliane heard the buzz of jet engines above her. It was luck and gave her hope of survival as she realized that people were looking for her. Raising her eyes, she knew she needed to escape the middle of the jungle to be located.
Nearby, she discovered a spring feeding a small stream, which gave her a lot of optimism. She had not only found some water to drink but was also confident that this small stream would lead to her rescue. The creek gradually widened and transformed into a primarily dry stream, allowing her to stroll beside it comfortably. When it became dark at about six o’clock, she searched the streambed for a safe place to spend the night and ate another piece of candy.
4. The will to live
According to Kramler, all survivors have some mix of knowledge, conditioning, and luck. However, these people are still highly likely to perish without the fourth and most critical component: the will to survive. It’s the spirit that keeps the survivors going. Their mentality enables them to persevere in the face of adversity. However, the fight for survival is not over until the mind surrenders to the struggle.
Juliane was not the one to give up. She walked and walked, following the stream, until she lost track of days. The creek eventually led to a small river. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much fruit to pick, and she had finished the last of her candies.
On the fifth or sixth day of my trip, December 29 or 30, she heard a buzzing sound that instantly transformed her indifferent mindset. She recognized the distinct call of a hoatzin — a subtropical bird that only nests near open expanses of water — right where people live!
It was a common occurrence at her home in Panguana. She moved faster now, following the sound with renewed vigor. Finally, she found herself standing on the side of a big river. She heard planes in the distance, but the noise vanished with time. Fear filled her with rage. After all these days, how can the pilots turn back now that she had finally reached an open stretch of water?
But she wasn’t giving up. People can’t be far away if there’s a river. However, she couldn’t continue hiking along the riverbed because of heavy vegetation. So, she decided to swim in the middle of the river, keeping an eye out for stingrays and piranhas. She also anticipated caimans, which are alligator-like creatures that seldom threaten humans.
When the sun settled behind the horizon, she looked for a relatively safe location on the bank to sleep while mosquitoes and midges swarmed around her head. But, unfortunately, the nights when it rained were even worse as ice-cold droplets pelted down, soaking her summer clothing.
She swam during the day, searching for respite, but she could feel herself becoming weaker with time. Her sight and hearing started to deceive her as the days passed. She would frequently see a home on the riverside or hear hens clucking, or fantasized about food. Regardless, she was eager to fight till the very end.
A happy ending to the fight for survival
On the ninth day, she came to a gravel bank that appeared to be a suitable sleeping spot. She fell asleep for a few minutes. When she woke up, she noticed a boat. She rubbed her eyes to make sure it was real. Finally, she reached and touched it. It was true — she had found a small watercraft.
She observed a well-worn path heading up the riverbank and followed it. It took her hours to get up the hill. At the top, she saw a tiny shelter, but no one was there. She spent the night there and woke up the following day to find that no one had arrived. She climbed inside the shelter and put a tarp around her shoulders as it began to rain.
Too spent to move, she convinced herself to stay at the hut for one more day before continuing her journey. Then, at dusk, she heard whispers. The voices became louder as three men emerged from the woods. She cried out in Spanish.
“My name is Juliane. I am a girl who was in the LANSA crash.”
— Juliane Koepcke
Juliane Koepcke was located and taken to safety on January 3, 1972, after surviving 11 days in the rain forest. The disaster of LANSA Flight 508 killed 91 people, including Juliane’s mother. Juliane was the only one who made it out alive.
“I had nightmares for a long time, for years, and of course the grief about my mother’s death and that of the other people came back again and again. The thought Why was I the only survivor? haunts me. It always will.”
— Juliane Koepcke Diller
She now works as a biologist and librarian at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology. She visits Panguana frequently, where the research station she inherited continues to attract scientists worldwide.
Video by Top Trending on Youtube / How Just One Girl Survived A Plane Crash
Juliane’s story is truly one of a kind. I encourage you to read her full personal account. The proper knowledge and mindset allowed Juliane to overcome extraordinary adversities, making her survival story the perfect example of the power of the mind and the psychology of survival.
“We don’t even know how strong we are until we are forced to bring that hidden strength forward. In times of tragedy, of war, of necessity, people do amazing things. The human capacity for survival and renewal is awesome.”
— Isabel Allende