Everyone has different reasons to love Christmas, some love the idea of holidays, great food, Christmas songs, the Santa Claus while others love the fact that they’ll finally get to reunite with their families. She was just another girl eagerly waiting to see her father after a long time on Christmas Eve. She was going to take off with her mother and land in Peru where her dad would be waiting for them. This flight never landed in Peru though.

Family Of Researchers

Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke and Maria Mikulicz-Radecki, two German students met at the University of Kiel. They together moved to Peru for further research after completing their graduation. In Peru, they studied birds and wildlife, flora and fauna. Later, they got married. The couple shared similar interests and went on writing several books together.

Christmas Around The Corner

Juliane was 17 years old and it had been some months since she spent time with her father. Maria planned on being together with her husband during Christmas and that’s how it all started. A family trying to be together on Christmas seemed like a valid wish. This plan was actually going to meet a drastic end.

Graduation Ceremony

At first, Maria’s plan was to leave for Pucallpa a couple of days before Christmas as she didn’t want to deal with any last moment to sneak away from the Christmas rush. But her 17 years old daughter, Juliane insisted they should stay for her graduation ceremony. Knowing that it was once in a lifetime moment for her daughter, Maria agreed.

Flight Delay

They made the last moment reservations and now they were supposed to take off on December 24, 1971. They were waiting at the Jorge Chávez International Airport for their flight that was running late. Everyone was worried about the fact if they’ll be able to make it on time or not even when the flight was supposed to cover the distance in just an hour.

juliane koepcke prom plane crash

Boarding The Flight

Everyone hurried as the flight was finally about to take off after hours of delay. There were 91 people on the plane including the crew members and the passengers. The cabin crew attendant made an apology for the delay and the flight took off. Everything was fine for the next minutes, the sky was clear but soon it started to turn dark.