Free Republic

In December 1971, 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke and her mother were traveling to see her father on LANSA Flight 508 when the plane was felled by lightning and broke apart. Considered the worst lightning strike in history, the crash ultimately led to the loss of every passenger on board - except Koepcke. The teenager plunged two miles through the air to the floor of a Peruvian jungle, still strapped to her seat. Despite this harrowing experience, she lived to tell the tale. Koepcke, who miraculously suffered only minimal harm, ventured through the forest for 11 days seeking help. Just 10 minutes...

Juliane Koepcke was flying over the Peruvian rainforest with her mother when her plane was hit by lightning. She survived a two-mile fall and found herself alone in the jungle, just 17. More than 40 years later, she recalls what happened. It was Christmas Eve 1971 and everyone was eager to get home, we were angry because the plane was seven hours late. Suddenly we entered into a very heavy, dark cloud. My mother was anxious but I was OK, I liked flying. Ten minutes later it was obvious that something was very wrong. There was very heavy turbulence and...