She fell two miles from the sky, still strapped to her plane seat, into the jungle. She was the sole survivor among the 92 passengers, which included her mother, and Juliane s unexplainable survival has been called a modern-day miracle.
With incredible courage, instinct and ingenuity, she crawled and walked alone for eleven days in the green hell of the Amazon. She survived using the skills she d learned in assisting her parents on their research trips into the jungle before coming across a loggers hut, and, with it, safety. Now she tells her fascinating story for the first time and on its 40th anniversary she shares not only the private moments of her survival and rescue but her inspiring life in the wake of the disaster.
Juliane Koepcke whose married name is Diller was born in 1954 and grew up in Lima and the rain forest, where her parents founded the Panguana research station. She earned a doctoral degree in biology and works for the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology in Munich. She returns to Peru every year. Her incredible story was documented in the film Wings of Hope, directed by Werner Herzog.