Juliane Koepcke survived 3,000 metre fall after plane hit lightning in Peru
The 17-year-old survivor walked through the Amazon rainforest for 11 days after being the only person to survive the crash.
Juliane Koepcke, 17, fell approximately 3,000 metres while still strapped to her seat after LANSA Flight 508 was struck by lightning over the Peruvian rainforest on Christmas Eve 1971, according to the Times of India.
The aircraft was flying to Panguana to see her father when it encountered a violent thunderstorm. Koepcke was the only survivor among the 92 people on board, which included 86 passengers and six crew members.
After the plane broke apart in mid-air, Koepcke lost consciousness and woke up the next day alone in the jungle. She had a broken collarbone, a ruptured ligament in her knee, and deep cuts on her legs.
Having been raised at her parents' biological research station, Koepcke used her knowledge of the rainforest to survive. She followed a creek and used a bag of sweets for food while avoiding snakes and changing weather.
On the tenth day, she found a hut with an outboard motor and a litre of petrol. She used the petrol to remove approximately 30 maggots from a wound on her arm.
Local men discovered her the following morning and took her back to civilisation. Her mother, Maria Koepcke, was among those who died following the incident.