LANSA Flight 508
![]() A LANSA Lockheed L-188 Electra similar to the accident aircraft | |
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 24 December 1971 (1971-12-24) |
Summary | Crashed following midair break-up in thunderstorm |
Site | Puerto Inca, Peru |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Lockheed L-188A Electra |
Operator | Líneas Aéreas Nacionales S.A. |
Registration | OB-R-941 |
Flight origin | Jorge Chávez International Airport, Lima, Peru |
Stopover | Captain Rolden International Airport, Pucallpa |
Destination | Coronel FAP Francisco Secada Vignetta International Airport, Iquitos, Peru |
Occupants | 92 |
Passengers | 86 |
Crew | 6 |
Fatalities | 91 |
Injuries | 1 |
Survivors | 1 |
LANSA Flight 508 was a Lockheed L-188A Electra turboprop operated as a scheduled domestic passenger flight by Lineas Aéreas Nacionales Sociedad Anonima (LANSA, a Peruvian airline company) that crashed in a thunderstorm en route from Lima to Pucallpa in Peru on 24 December 1971, killing 91 people – all six of its crew and 85 of its 86 passengers.[1] It is the deadliest lightning strike disaster in aviation history.[clarification needed][2]
Crash
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/LANSA-Flug_508.svg/220px-LANSA-Flug_508.svg.png)
LANSA Flight 508 departed Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport just before noon on Christmas Eve on its way to Iquitos, Peru, with a scheduled stop at Pucallpa. The aircraft was flying at about 6,400 metres (21,000 ft) above mean sea level when it encountered an area of thunderstorms and severe turbulence. Some evidence showed the crew decided to continue the flight despite the hazardous weather ahead, apparently because of pressure to meet the holiday schedule.[3][4] Peruvian investigators cited "intentional flight into hazardous weather conditions" as a cause of the crash.[3]
Victims and sole survivor
The sole survivor was 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke, who while strapped to her seat fell 3,000 m (10,000 ft) into the Amazon rainforest.[5] She survived the fall with a broken collarbone, a deep gash to her right arm, an eye injury, and concussion. She was able to trek through the dense Amazon jungle for 10 days and found shelter in a hut. Local lumberjacks found her and took her by canoe back to civilization.[6][7][8] The Electra was LANSA's last aircraft; the company lost its operating permit eleven days later.[9]
As many as 14 other passengers were also later found to have survived the crash, but died awaiting rescue.[4]
In popular culture
The movie Miracles Still Happen (1974) is based on the story.[10] Koepcke's story was also told in the documentary film Wings of Hope (1998) by director Werner Herzog, who had narrowly avoided taking the same flight, when his reservation had been canceled due to a last minute change in itinerary.[11][12] Koepcke's memoir Als ich vom Himmel fiel was published by the German publisher Piper Malik on March 10, 2011.[13] (The English edition, titled When I Fell From the Sky, was published by Titletown Publishing in November 2011.)
The crash also features in the final season one episode of the Discovery Channel documentary Aircrash Confidential. The episode was first aired in 2011, and features an interview with Koepcke.[14]
See also
- List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
- List of sole survivors of aviation accidents and incidents
References
- ^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
- ^ "Worst lightning strike disaster – death toll". Guinness World Records.
- ^ a b "Accident Database: Accident Synopsis 12241971®=OB-R-941". airdisaster.com. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b "Super70's Article". Archived from the original on 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2006-10-09.
- ^ Franz Lidz (June 22, 2021). "Life After the Fall". The New York Times. p. D1.
- ^ Koepcke, Juliane (2011). When I Fell From the Sky (1st English ed.). Green Bay, WI: TitleTown Publishing. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-9837547-0-1.
- ^ "Plane Crash Accident Record". planecrashinfo.com. Archived from the original on 2018-11-17. Retrieved 2019-04-07.
- ^ Pleitgen, Frederik (2 July 2009). "Survivor still haunted by 1971 air crash". CNN. CNN.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
- ^ World Airlines Flight International, p. S31, 18 May 1972
- ^ "Miracles Still Happen (IMDb Record)". IMDb. Retrieved 2016-04-13.
- ^ Herzog, Werner (2001). Herzog on Herzog. Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-20708-1.
- ^ "Wings of Hope (IMDb Record)". IMDb. Retrieved 2006-10-09.
- ^ "Als ich vom Himmel fiel".
- ^ Barrett, Mathew; Griffiths, Alan; McNab, David; et al. (2011). Prince, Stephen; Gilbert, Roy (eds.). Aircrash Confidential (TV Documentary) (Extreme Weather ed.). Discovery Channel: MMXI World Media Rights Limited; WMR Productions; IMG Entertainment.
External links
- Photo of Accident Aircraft on Aviation Safety Site
- Outside Magazine Top Survival Stories (Archive)
- Tournavista, Perú on Falling Rain
- BBC News - Juliane Koepcke: How I survived a plane crash
- v
- t
- e
- Varig Flight 810 (November 1962)
- LANSA Flight 501 (April 1966)
- Cordillera Carpish Faucett Perú Douglas C-54 crash (December 1967)
- LANSA Flight 502 (August 1970)
- LANSA Flight 508 (December 1971)
- Alianza Lima plane crash (December 1987)
- Faucett Flight 251 (February 1996)
- Aeroperú Flight 603 (October 1996)
- Occidental Petroleum Boeing 737 crash (May 1998)
- Peru shootdown (April 2001)
- TANS Perú Flight 222 (January 2003)
- TANS Perú Flight 204 (August 2005)
- Amazon Sky An-26 crash (December 2012)
- Helicópteros del Pacífico Mil Mi-8 crash (April 2013)
- LATAM Perú Flight 2213 (November 2022)