View source for LANSA Flight 508

{{short description|1971 aviation accident in Peru}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox aircraft occurrence
| image           = LANSA Lockheed L-188A Electra.png
| alt             = 
| caption         = A LANSA Lockheed L-188 Electra similar to the accident aircraft
| occurrence_type = Accident
| date            = {{start date|1971|12|24|df=y}}
| summary         = Crashed following a midair break-up in a thunderstorm
| site            = [[Puerto Inca District|Puerto Inca]], Peru
| coordinates     = 
| aircraft_type   = [[Lockheed L-188A Electra]]
| aircraft_name   = 
| operator        = [[Líneas Aéreas Nacionales S.A.]]
| tail_number     = OB-R-941
| origin          = [[Jorge Chávez International Airport]], Lima, Peru
| stopover        = [[FAP Captain David Abensur Rengifo International Airport|Captain Rolden International Airport]], Pucallpa, Peru
| destination     = [[Coronel FAP Francisco Secada Vignetta International Airport]], Iquitos, Peru
| passengers      = 86
| crew            = 6
| fatalities      = 91
| injuries        = 1
| survivors       = 1
| occupants       = 92
}}

'''LANSA Flight 508''' was a [[Lockheed L-188 Electra|Lockheed L-188A Electra]] [[turboprop]] operated as a scheduled domestic passenger flight by [[Líneas Aéreas Nacionales S.A.|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 crew on board and 85 of its 86 passengers.<ref name=asn>{{ASN accident|id=19711224-0}}</ref> It is regarded in popular retellings as the deadliest [[lightning]] strike disaster in aviation history.{{Clarify|date=April 2024|reason=It is not mentioned anywhere else in the article that lightning strike was the cause of the accident}}<ref name="Guinness">{{cite news |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/worst-lightning-strike-disaster-death-toll |title=Worst lightning strike disaster – death toll |work=[[Guinness World Records]] }}</ref>

== Accident ==
{{Missing info|section|the direct cause of the crash|date=August 2024}}
[[File:LANSA-Flug 508.svg|thumb|Approximate flight path of OB-R-941]]

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 {{convert|21000|ft|m|order=flip}} above [[mean sea level]] when it encountered an area of [[thunderstorm]]s 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.<ref name=ad>{{cite web|url=http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=12241971%C2%AE=OB-R-941&airline=Lineas+Aereas+Nacionales|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310233537/http://www.airdisaster.com/cgi-bin/view_details.cgi?date=12241971%C2%AE=OB-R-941&airline=Lineas+Aereas+Nacionales|archive-date=2007-03-10|title=Accident Database: Accident Synopsis 12241971Â®=OB-R-941|url-status=usurped|work=airdisaster.com}}</ref><ref name="s70">{{cite web|url=http://www.super70s.com/Super70s/Tech/Aviation/Disasters/71-12-24(Lansa).asp|title=Super70's Article|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170508023054/http://www.super70s.com/Super70s/Tech/Aviation/Disasters/71-12-24(Lansa).asp|archive-date=2017-05-08|access-date=2006-10-09}}</ref> Peruvian investigators cited "intentional flight into hazardous weather conditions" as a cause of the crash.<ref name=ad/>

After flying for twenty minutes in this weather at FL210 lightning struck the aircraft, causing fire on the right wing which separated, along with part of the left wing. The aircraft crashed in flames into mountainous terrain. Structural failure occurred because of the loads imposed on the aircraft flying through a severe thunderstorm, but also because of stresses resulting from the maneuver to level out the aircraft.<ref>flightsafety.org</ref>

== Victims and sole survivor ==
The sole survivor was 17-year-old [[Juliane Koepcke]], who while strapped to her seat fell {{cvt|3,000|m|ft|sigfig=1}} into the [[Amazon rainforest]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Life After the Fall |author=Franz Lidz |date=June 22, 2021 |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=D1}}</ref> She survived the fall with a broken [[clavicle|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.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Koepcke|first1=Juliane|title=When I Fell From the Sky|date=2011|publisher=TitleTown Publishing|location=Green Bay, WI|isbn=978-0-9837547-0-1|page=67|edition= 1st English}}</ref><ref name=pc>{{cite web|url=http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1971/1971-69.htm|title=Plane Crash Accident Record|work=planecrashinfo.com|access-date=2019-04-07|archive-date=2018-11-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117142800/http://www.planecrashinfo.com/1971/1971-69.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/07/02/germany.aircrash.survivor/index.html|title=Survivor still haunted by 1971 air crash|last=Pleitgen|first=Frederik|date=2 July 2009|work=CNN|access-date=30 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225140559/http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/07/02/germany.aircrash.survivor/index.html|archive-date=25 February 2018|publisher=CNN.com|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Electra was LANSA's last aircraft; the company lost its operating permit eleven days later.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1972/1972%20-%201291.html World Airlines] ''Flight International'', p. S31, 18 May 1972</ref>

As many as 14 other passengers were also later found to have survived the crash, but died awaiting rescue, including Koepcke's mother.<ref name=s70/>

==In popular culture==
The movie ''[[Miracles Still Happen]]'' (1974) is based on the story.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071845/|title=Miracles Still Happen (IMDb Record)|website=[[IMDb]] |access-date=2016-04-13}}</ref> Koepcke's story was also told in the [[documentary film]] ''[[Wings of Hope (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.<ref name="hh">{{cite book |last= Herzog |first= Werner |title= Herzog on Herzog |publisher= [[Faber and Faber]] |year= 2001 |isbn= 0-571-20708-1 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/herzogonherzog00herz}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249248/|title=Wings of Hope (IMDb Record)|website=[[IMDb]] |access-date=2006-10-09}}</ref> Koepcke's memoir {{Lang|de|Als ich vom Himmel fiel}} was published by the German publisher Piper Malik on March 10, 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.piper.de/buecher/als-ich-vom-himmel-fiel-isbn-978-3-492-27493-7|title=Als ich vom Himmel fiel }}</ref> (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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barrett |first1=Mathew |last2=Griffiths |first2=Alan |last3=McNab |first3=David |display-authors=etal |editor1-last=Prince |editor1-first=Stephen |editor2-last=Gilbert |editor2-first=Roy |title=Aircrash Confidential |date=2011 |publisher=MMXI World Media Rights Limited; WMR Productions; IMG Entertainment |location=Discovery Channel |edition=Extreme Weather |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2141591/ |format=TV Documentary}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Peru|Aviation|1970s}}
* [[List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft]]
* [[List of sole survivors of aviation accidents and incidents]]
* [[Braniff International Airways Flight 352]] -- a similar wing-overload crash in the same type of aircraft caused when the crew attempted to fly through a severe thunderstorm. This incident might provide an alternative explanation of the cause for wing-separation independent of a lightning-strike, as severe turbulence caused by the storm and the crew's efforts to correct for it proved sufficient to overload the wing without prior structural damage due to fire.
<!-- Do not add links to other accidents simply because you think they are similar to this one. Similarity must be based on reliable sources, like anything else. -->

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://asn.flightsafety.org/asndb/330639 Photo of Accident Aircraft on Aviation Safety Site]
* [http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200409/top_survival_stories_4.html Outside Magazine Top Survival Stories] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20050124162051/http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200409/top_survival_stories_4.html Archive])
* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/PE/10/Tournavista.html Tournavista, Perú] on [http://www.fallingrain.com Falling Rain]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17476615 BBC News - Juliane Koepcke: How I survived a plane crash]

{{coord missing|Peru}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in Peru}}
{{Aviation accidents and incidents in 1971}}

[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error]]
[[Category:Airliner accidents and incidents caused by lightning strikes]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in Peru]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents in 1971]]
[[Category:Accidents and incidents involving the Lockheed L-188 Electra]]
[[Category:LANSA accidents and incidents|508]]
[[Category:1971 in Peru]]
[[Category:1971 meteorology]]
[[Category:December 1971 in South America]]
[[Category:1971 disasters in Peru]]
[[Category:Aviation accidents and incidents caused by clear air turbulence]]