LANSA Flight 508

LANSA Flight 508

Approximate flight path of OB-R-941
Accident summary
Date	December 24, 1971
Summary	Pilot error, Lightning strike
Site	Puerto Inca, Peru
Passengers	86
Crew	6
Fatalities	91
Injuries (non-fatal)	1
Survivors	1 (Juliane Koepcke)
Aircraft type	Lockheed L-188A Electra
Operator	Lineas Aéreas Nacionales Sociedad Anonima
Registration	OB-R-941

LANSA Flight 508 was a Lockheed L-188A Electra turboprop, registered OB-R-941, operated as a scheduled domestic passenger flight by Lineas Aéreas Nacionales Sociedad Anonima (LANSA), that crashed in a thunderstorm en route from Lima to Pucallpa, Peru on December 24, 1971, killing 91 people–all 6 of its crew and 85 of its 86 passengers. It was the worst lightning strike disaster in history. The sole survivor was 17-year-old Juliane Koepcke, who while strapped to her seat fell 2 miles (3 km) into the Amazon rainforest. She survived the fall and was then able to walk through the jungle for 10 days until being rescued by local lumbermen. The Electra was LANSA's last aircraft; the company lost its operating permit a few weeks later.

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, Peru. The aircraft was flying at about 21,000 ft (6,400 m) above Mean Sea Level when it encountered an area of thunderstorms and severe turbulence. There was evidence the crew decided to continue the flight despite the hazardous weather ahead, apparently because of pressure to meet the holiday schedule.

The lone survivor, a 17-year-old German Peruvian teenager named Juliane Koepcke, later described: "The clouds became darker and darker and the flight became more turbulent. Then we were in the midst of pitch-black clouds and a proper storm with thunder and lightning. It was pitch-black all around us and there was constant lightning. Then I saw a glistening light on the right wing… The motor was hit by lightning."