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She Survived a Plane Crash But Her Nightmare Was Just Beginning - The Story of Juliane Koepcke — Transcript

by Well, I Never · 2,705 words · 437 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:01It's most people's worst nightmare.
0:04You're on a flight when it enters a
0:06thunderstorm and is tossed about in
0:09ferocious turbulence. The cabin lights
0:12go out as the sound of the engines
0:14roaring fills your head. The next thing
0:17you know, you're outside the plane
0:20falling in pitch darkness.
0:23It would be easy to assume that the fate
0:26of the person going through this would
0:29be sealed. Death approaching them at
0:32speed. Miraculously, one person would
0:35survive this very scenario. However,
0:38their fight for survival was only just
0:41beginning. In the history of human
0:44endurance, few tales resonate so
0:46profoundly as that of Julianne Copka.
0:50What makes her survival so astonishing
0:53is not just the fall itself, but what
0:56followed. It is a tale that has
0:58fascinated and inspired generations. And
1:02today we will journey through every
1:04gripping detail of this incredible saga.
1:13Julian Copka was born on October the
1:1610th, 1954 in Lima, Peru to German
1:20parents Maria and Hans Rohelm Copka. Her
1:24father was a renowned zoologologist
1:26while her mother was an ornithologist.
1:30The couple had moved to Peru to conduct
1:32research in the rich biodiversity of the
1:35Amazon rainforest, establishing the
1:38Panguana Research Station in
1:411968. Julianne grew up amidst this
1:44environment, fostering a deep connection
1:46with nature from an early age. Her
1:49parents were passionate about their work
1:51and their enthusiasm for the natural
1:53world was inherently passed down to
1:55their daughter. Unlike many children who
1:59spend their childhoods in urban
2:01settings, Julianne had the rainforest as
2:04her playground. She learned from an
2:06early age how to identify different
2:08species of animals and plants, how to
2:11move safely through the jungle, and how
2:14to respect the power and dangers of
2:17nature. Her upbringing in such an
2:19environment would later prove to be one
2:22of the key factors in her survival.
2:25Despite her unusual childhood, Julianne
2:28was not completely cut off from modern
2:30education. She attended a German high
2:33school in Lima where she excelled in her
2:35studies. Her parents encouraged her
2:38academic pursuits, hoping she would one
2:40day follow in their
2:42footsteps. Having had few chances of
2:44attending social gatherings with her
2:46peers, Julianne was keen to attend her
2:49graduation ball on December the 23rd,
2:521971. Her mother who was in Lima on
2:56business and wanted to head back to
2:58Pukalpa that day decided to stay a day
3:00longer to allow her daughter to enjoy
3:03the event. The pair would then fly to
3:06Palpa on the 24th in time to spend
3:09Christmas with Hans Wilhelm. This
3:12decision would prove fateful. On
3:14December the 24th, 1971, Julianne, a
3:18mere 17 years old and her mother boarded
3:21Lancer flight 508 from Lemur to
3:25Palpa. Hans Wilhelm had warned the pair
3:28about flying with the operator as they
3:31had a poor safety record, but flying so
3:33close to Christmas meant all other
3:36options were fully booked. The Lockheed
3:40L188A Electra aircraft took off without
3:43issue around midday. The weather was
3:46clear and bright. However, things would
3:49soon change. Approximately 40 minutes
3:52into the journey, the plane encountered
3:54a large storm front, and soon the bright
3:57sunshine was replaced with darkness
4:00permeated by flashes of lightning.
4:03Turbulence struck the flight and people
4:05cried out as items fell from the
4:07overhead storage, including bags,
4:10flowers, toys, gifts, and clothing. The
4:13scene in the cabin soon turned to one of
4:16chaos. Julianne, who was sat near a
4:18window, remembers seeing a bright flash
4:21before hearing what would be her
4:23mother's last words. "Now it's all
4:26over." Lightning had struck the
4:29aircraft, causing structural failure.
4:32the right wing attached, leading to the
4:34plane's disintegration in midair.
4:37Julianne lost all her sense of time as
4:39her body was filled with the deep roar
4:41of the plane as it slanted downward. She
4:45was still strapped into her seat when
4:46she felt herself being ejected into the
4:49open sky. The sheer terror of that
4:52moment is unimaginable.
4:54One second she was seated next to her
4:57mother and the next she was free falling
5:00from thousands of feet above the ground.
5:03The noise of the wind rushing past her
5:05ears, the disorientation, the
5:07realization that she was plunging
5:10towards certain death. All of it must
5:14have been overwhelming. from hearing the
5:16screams of fellow passengers to eery
5:20silence. During the intense ordeal, she
5:23lost consciousness, a possible blessing
5:26that spared her the full horror of the
5:29descent. When Julianne awoke, she found
5:32herself in the dense rainforest foliage
5:35that had helped cushion her fall.
5:37Looking at her watch, which by another
5:40miracle was still working, she could see
5:43that the time was now 9:00 a.m., she had
5:46sustained a broken collarbone, a deep
5:48gash on her right arm, an eye injury,
5:52and a concussion. As her senses
5:55returned, she was struck by how alone
5:58she now found
5:59herself. She called for her mother, who
6:02in her mind was sat next to her mere
6:05moments ago. Her calls, however, were
6:09met only with the forest's silent
6:12indifference. In simply a mini dress and
6:15one sandal, she ventured away from the
6:18spot she landed without the glasses to
6:20see the way. In her book, When I Fell
6:23from the Sky, Julianne explains that
6:26whenever she'd explore the rainforest,
6:28she'd always do so with a machete, not
6:32only to help cut away through the dense
6:34foliage, but to also leave markers to
6:37find a way back and to avoid going
6:39around in circles. Without this vital
6:43tool, she instead fixated on a
6:45particular tree that stood out from the
6:47rest and kept it in her vision as she
6:50moved through the
6:52undergrowth. Eventually, she happened
6:55across the crash site. While she found
6:57no other survivors, she did find a bag
7:00of sweets, but curbed her hunger for a
7:03short while. As she scoured the
7:05location, planes could be heard above,
7:08searching for the wreckage. Their view,
7:10like Julianne's ability to catch their
7:13attention, was blocked by the
7:15rainforest's dense tree covering, and
7:17they soon departed. While the sound of
7:20the search party turning away filled her
7:22with despair, it ultimately gave way to
7:26fresh hope, when the roar of engines was
7:29replaced with a faint babble of running
7:31water. Following the sound, Julianne
7:34happened upon a small stream and
7:36recalled the lesson from her father.
7:38quote, "If you get lost in the jungle
7:41and you find flowing water, then stay
7:44near it. Follow its course. It will
7:47bring you to other
7:50people." With this, she sat on her way,
7:53but the going was far from easy. Large
7:57roots and trees would often block her
7:59path, causing her to take small detours.
8:03It was also the rainy season, and the
8:05soft earth sapped her energy with each
8:08step. Day after day, she would trudge
8:11along the river. 3 days into her trek,
8:15she came face to face with a familiar
8:18piece of wreckage, a turbine engine
8:20blackened across one side, a sign of the
8:23lightning strike, perhaps. Day four
8:26brought fresh horrors as first Julianne
8:29recognized the sound of king vultures
8:32carrying eaters she knew were now
8:34feasting on those less fortunate than
8:37herself. Then as she came to a bend in
8:40the river, she spotted an upside down
8:42row of seats from the crash. The
8:45passengers still fastened in place,
8:48their heads and upper toes are buried in
8:50the soft ground, their legs protruding
8:53into the air like a grotesque stature.
8:57As she persevered, the small stream
8:59eventually opened up into a roaring
9:02river, but the arduous journey was far
9:05from over. With no clear path at the
9:08sound of the water, Julianne took to
9:11swimming, which carried its own myriad
9:14troubles. The night provided little
9:16restbite. Mosquitoes swarmed this new
9:19banquet laid out before them. Sleep was
9:22rare and often disturbed by their bites
9:25or the sting of some other small
9:27creature. For the particularly
9:30squeamish, I suggest you skip ahead to
9:32this part of the show, as it would soon
9:35be revealed that the bugs Julianne had
9:38to deal with weren't only on the
9:41outside. Turning to check on the wound
9:44on her right upper arm, she found that
9:46it had become infested with maggots,
9:49despite her best efforts to remove them.
9:51She was unsuccessful and would have to
9:53suffer her new passengers for the
9:55remainder of her trek, growing ever
9:59weaker. On her 10th day in the
10:02unforgiving rainforest, Julianne spotted
10:05something
10:06unbelievable. On the riverbank, the
10:09first man-made object outside of the
10:11craft that had stranded her there, a
10:14boat. Nearby, she found a hut with a can
10:17of petrol inside. She used some of this
10:20on the wound in her arm, managing to
10:23evict some 30 maggots. However, there
10:26were still no people. But with her
10:28energy sat, she decided to stay a night
10:31out before trying to move on further.
10:33The following evening, as she sought the
10:36energy to continue, she finally heard
10:38voices. Several men appeared from the
10:41forest, and upon spotting the wounded
10:43and bedraggled girl, recoiled in shock.
10:47She explained to them her stunning story
10:50and in turn they informed her of the
10:52authorities futile attempts to find a
10:55crash site. They also explained to her
10:58that the river she had been following
11:00was the Rio Shabona, an area almost
11:03totally
11:04uninhabited. It was some time before the
11:07group reached the mouth of the Shabona
11:09and a small village of Tonavista.
11:12There the group stopped to eat and as
11:15Julianne approached two children ran off
11:18and a woman recoiled in fear, stating,
11:20"Oh god, those terrible eyes." Copa
11:23wouldn't know what the woman meant until
11:25finally seeing her face in a mirror. All
11:29the blood vessels in her eyes had burst,
11:31leaving her looking as though her eyes
11:33were entirely red. After a period of
11:36recovery, Julianne helped search parties
11:39locate the crash site and recover the
11:41bodies of those who perished. This was
11:44an emotionally challenging task for her
11:47as she had to confront the wreckage and
11:50the devastating loss of life, including
11:53that of her beloved mother, whose
11:55remains were found on January the 12th,
11:581972.
12:01Investigations revealed that up to 14
12:03other passengers had initially survived
12:06the crash but succumbed to their
12:08injuries or the harsh environment while
12:11awaiting rescue. This tragic revelation
12:14proves how close survival was for many.
12:17Yet fate did not grant them the same
12:19endurance or opportunity that Julianne
12:22possessed. Her unique survival has been
12:25attributed to several factors, each
12:28playing a pivotal role in ensuring she
12:31defied the
12:33odds. One of the primary reasons that
12:35experts believe she survived was the
12:38cushioning effect of her seat row during
12:40the fall. As the plane broke apart, she
12:44remained strapped to her seat, which
12:46along with two adjacent seats still
12:49attached, may have slowed her descent.
12:51The thick canopy of the rainforest
12:54provided an additional buffer, breaking
12:57her fall in stages rather than allowing
13:00her to plummet straight to the ground.
13:03Some have theorized that updrafts in the
13:06storm may have also caught her row
13:09seats, sending them into a slow spiral
13:12like the seeds of a sycamore. From
13:15there, it was Julianne's familiarity
13:18with the rainforest ecosystem that
13:20played a significant role in her
13:22survival. Unlike most passengers on the
13:25flight, she was not entirely helpless in
13:28this alien environment. Having grown up
13:30in Panguano, she had acquired vital
13:33survival skills, many of which were
13:36second nature to her. She knew how to
13:38avoid dangerous plants and creatures,
13:41and most importantly understood that
13:45following water sources would increase
13:47her chances of finding
13:50civilization. The average person thrown
13:53into such a setting without preparation
13:56might have panicked or wandered
13:58aimlessly, wasting precious time and
14:01energy.
14:03Julianne, however, moved with purpose,
14:06an instinct likely instilled in her by
14:08her scientist parents. Resilience and an
14:12exceptional will to survive also played
14:15their part. She was young, physically
14:18fit, and accustomed to the rigors of the
14:21natural world. Despite her injuries, she
14:24did not succumb to despair. The
14:27psychological aspect of survival cannot
14:30be underestimated. Her determination to
14:33keep going even when hunger and
14:36infection threatened to overpower her
14:39was remarkable. There is also the
14:41question of sheer
14:44luck. Many have debated whether certain
14:47inexplicable elements contributed to her
14:49survival. Was it mere chance that she
14:52landed in an area that cushioned her
14:55fall, that she did not suffer a more
14:57severe or possible fatal head injury, or
15:01that she encountered the lumberjack's
15:03boat at precisely the right time when
15:06her strength was nearly depleted?
15:09These factors raise questions about fate
15:12versus randomness and whether Julianne's
15:15story was one of extraordinary fortune
15:19or simply the perfect confluence of
15:22factors necessary for survival. Upon
15:25learning of a tale, newspaper reaction
15:28was mixed. Some lacking details of what
15:33actually happened concocted a story
15:36where Julianne had built a raft from
15:38wood and leaves and floated down river
15:41before being discovered by a tribe.
15:44Others accused her of abandoning other
15:46survivors who had been wandering the
15:48forest screaming and looking for
15:50help. These accusations are of course
15:54false.
15:55Following her ordeal, Julianne faced
15:58years of physical and emotional
16:00recovery. She returned to Germany where
16:03she lived with relatives and resumed her
16:05education. Her experiences did not deter
16:09her from pursuing a career in science.
16:12Rather, they reinforced her dedication
16:14to the natural world. Inspired by her
16:18parents' passion for research, she
16:20studied biology at the Ludwig Maximleian
16:23University of Munich. eventually earning
16:26her doctorate. Rather than avoiding the
16:28Amazon rainforest, Julianne embraced it,
16:32seeing it as a place of beauty rather
16:35than terror. In later years, she
16:38returned to Peru after her father passed
16:40away to take over the work at the
16:43Panguana Research Station, ensuring its
16:46legacy continued. Her efforts in
16:48conservation and education have made a
16:51lasting impact. She has worked
16:54tirelessly to preserve the rainforest
16:56and educate the world on its
16:59importance. Julianne's harrowing
17:02experience and remarkable survival have
17:04captured the imagination of filmmakers,
17:07writers, and audiences
17:10worldwide. Her story has been the
17:12subject of various films and books, each
17:15offering a different perspective on her
17:18ordeal. The 1974 film Miracles Still
17:22Happen dramatized her survival, bringing
17:25her story to a wider audience. While the
17:28film took creative liberties, it
17:30remained largely true to the events she
17:33experienced. In
17:351998, renowned director Wernner Herzog,
17:39who had narrowly missed being on the
17:41same ill- fated flight, created the
17:44documentary Wings of Hope. Herzog
17:47retraced Julianne's journey, taking her
17:50back to the crash site and allowing her
17:53to reflect on her survival decades
17:55later. The film provided a deeply
17:58personal look at her experience and
18:01added new dimensions to the story. In
18:052011, Julianne published her memoir,
18:08When I Fell from the Sky, in which she
18:11detailed her account of the crash, her
18:13survival, and its lifelong impact on
18:16her. The book was wellreceived and
18:19provided an unfiltered, deeply personal
18:22insight into her experience. Unlike
18:25previous retellings, her memoir allowed
18:28readers to understand the psychological
18:31and emotional toll of what she
18:34endured. Her story remains a source of
18:37fascination, not just because of the
18:40extraordinary nature of her survival,
18:43but because of the way she has chosen to
18:46live her life in its
18:48aftermath, thriving rather than simply
18:52surviving.
18:53Julianne Copka's life is a profound
18:56narrative of survival, scientific
18:59pursuit, and unwavering dedication to
19:03nature. What she endured at the tender
19:06age of 17 would have broken many, but
19:10she emerged from the depths of tragedy
19:13with a sense of purpose and a
19:16determination to contribute to the
19:18world. Her resilience is not just about
19:21surviving a plane crash. It is about
19:25what she chose to do afterwards. She
19:28could have retreated from the world,
19:30haunted by her past, but instead she
19:34forged ahead, embracing the very
19:37environment that nearly claimed her
19:39life. Her commitment to conservation and
19:42education ensures that the lessons
19:45learned from her experiences extend far
19:49beyond her own survival. Julianne's
19:52story is a testament to the human
19:55spirit. The power of knowledge and the
19:58importance of
20:00perseverance. It is a tale that
20:03continues to amaze, inspire, and remind
20:06us of the extraordinary capabilities
20:09within us
20:13all. Thank you for watching.
20:17Right. Then take care and I'll see you
20:21next time with another story that will
20:25maybe you say, "Well, I never

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