WHEN I FELL FROM THE SKY The True Story of One Woman’s Miraculous Survival WHEN I FELL FROM THE SKY The True Story of One Woman’s Miraculous Survival BY JULIANE KOEPCKE IN COLLABORATION WITH BEATE RYGIERT TRANSLATED BY ROSS BENJAMIN WHEN I FELL FROM THE SKY The True Story of One Woman’s Miraculous Survival Written by Juliane Koepcke In Collaboration with Beate Rygiert Translated by Ross Benjamin Copyright © 2011 Juliane Koepcke and Piper Verlag, Munich English Translation Copyright © 2011 Ross Benjamin All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, except for passages excerpted for the purposes of review, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information, or to order additional copies, please contact: TitleTown Publishing, LLC P.O. Box 12093 Green Bay, WI 54307-12093 920.737.8051 | titletownpublishing.com North American Editor: Stephanie Finnegan Production Associate: Martin Lederman Cover Design: Dale Fiorillo Interior Layout and Design: Erika L. Block PUBLISHER’S CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA: Koepcke, Juliane. When I fell from the sky : the true story of one woman’s miraculous survival / Juliane Koepcke ; in collaboration with Beate Rygiert ; translated by Ross Benjamin. 1st English ed. -- Green Bay, Wis. : TitleTown Publishing, c2011. p. ; cm. ISBN: 978-0-9837547-0-1 Translation of: Als ich vom Himmel fiel : wie mir der Dschungel mein Leben zurückgab (Munich : Malik, 2011; 9783890293899). Includes index. Summary: Describes the 11-day ordeal faced by the 17-year old sole survivor of an airplane crash in the Peruvian jungle in 1971. 1. Koepcke, Juliane. 2. Airplane crash survival--Peru--Personal narratives. 3. Aircraft accidents--Peru--Personal narratives. I. Rygiert, Beate. II. Benjamin, Ross. III. Title: Als ich vom Himmel fiel. TL553.9 .K6413 2011 1110 363.1/248092--dc23 Printed in the USA first edition printed on recycled paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For my mother, who dedicated her short life to the birds of Peru, and who was torn much too soon from my side. CONTENTS CHRISTMAS EVE, 1971 CHAPTER 1: MY NEW LIFE CHAPTER 2: A CHILDHOOD AMONG ANIMALS CHAPTER 3: WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT LIFE FROM MY FATHER CHAPTER 4: MY LIFE IN TWO WORLDS CHAPTER 5: HOW I BECAME A JUNGLE GIRL CHAPTER 6: THE CRASH CHAPTER 7: ALONE IN THE JUNGLE CHAPTER 8: PUCALLPA TODAY CHAPTER 9: THE LARGE RIVER CHAPTER 10: THE RETURN CHAPTER 11: ONE SURVIVED! CHAPTER 12: GREETINGS FROM THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT CHAPTER 13: TERRIBLE CERTAINTY, AGONIZING UNCERTAINTY CHAPTER 14: NOTHING IS THE SAME AS IT WAS CHAPTER 15: HOMECOMING TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY CHAPTER 16: MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN CHAPTER 17: A REUNION AND A RETURN CHAPTER 18: THE SECRET SOUL OF THE FOREST CHAPTER 19: KEEPING AN EYE FIXED ON THE FUTURE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INDEX She did not leave the airplane, the airplane left her. —Werner Herzog, director and producer He was the first person I saw, and it was as if an angel were coming toward me. —Juliane Koepcke, describing her rescuer in the Wings of Hope documentary