The Girl Who Fell From the Sky Part I

The rain had been falling most of the afternoon by the time the aircraft lifted off from the small airport in Lima. Thick clouds hung low over the coast and the runway shimmered beneath the downpour as the plane gathered speed and climbed into the gray sky. It was Christmas Eve in Peru, and the flight north to the jungle city of Pucallpa was nearly full.

Seventeen year old Juliane Koepcke looked out the window as the coastline disappeared behind them. The aircraft pushed east toward the Andes and the deep interior of Peru. Below the wing stretched a landscape that seemed to go on forever. The forest looked endless, broken only by winding rivers that cut pale brown lines through the green canopy.

Inside the cabin the passengers around her spoke softly to one another or stared quietly out the windows. The flight was not a long one. From Lima it would only take about an hour to cross the Andes before descending toward the Amazon basin.

Juliane leaned into her mother and squeezed her hand.

“Mama, I can’t wait to see papa,” she said.

Her mother smiled and nodded. “I can’t wait to see him either dear.”

Across the aisle a young woman cradled a restless baby in her arms. She looked barely older than Juliane’s classmates at school. The child wore a small blue sweater and kicked impatiently against his mother’s lap as the aircraft droned through the clouds.

The baby stared back at Juliane with wide curious eyes. Juliane leaned forward slightly and crossed her eyes in an exaggerated expression.

The child froze for a moment, studying her face. Then he burst into laughter.

Juliane giggled and leaned back in her seat, making another ridiculous face.

The baby blinked at her in confusion before breaking into a wide grin and letting out a happy coo.

His mother laughed softly in relief and adjusted the child on her shoulder.

“Gracias,” she said across the aisle. Juliane smiled and nodded in response.

“Well done,” Juliane’s mother said. 

“I have experience with wild animals,” Juliane giggled.

Her mother raised an eyebrow but remained silent. The aircraft continued flying east.

Juliane leaned her head against the window and watched the clouds slide past the wing.

“Do you think Papa will be waiting at the airstrip?” she asked.

Her mother smiled. “Of course he will.” She paused for a moment and pursed her lips. “If the rain didn’t keep him in the forest.”

Juliane smiled quietly at that.

Her father’s research station sat deep in the jungle, surrounded by miles of forest and winding rivers. A heavy storm could swell the rivers overnight and turn a simple journey into a long expedition through the rainforest. If the skies were clear he would usually be waiting beside the small dirt airstrip when their plane landed, standing at the edge of the trees and waving as they climbed down from the aircraft.

Juliane pressed her forehead lightly against the window and tried to look past the clouds for the jungle below.

“I’m sure Papa will be there,” she said quietly.

Her hand drifted down to the small package resting in her lap. She tapped it lightly with her finger.

“I hope he likes the gift I brought him.”

Her mother glanced down at the wrapping paper. “What did you get him?”

Juliane shook her head.

“You’ll see when he opens it.”

Her mother raised an eyebrow. 

“It’s a surprise,” Juliane said quickly. “You’re not supposed to know.”

Her mother laughed softly and shook her head.

“I’m sure he’ll love it,” she said.

Juliane looked back out the window toward the endless green of the jungle far below.

“The real gift is seeing you again after a semester away,” her mother added.

Juliane smiled at that.

Across the aisle the baby began crying again.

The cabin lights flickered briefly as the plane entered the first band of turbulence. At first the movement was subtle. A gentle rocking motion that lifted a few heads and caused several passengers to glance toward the cockpit. The seatbelt sign chimed softly above the aisle.

Juliane’s mother looked out the window and then back at her daughter. She gently grabbed her hand and squeezed.

“It’s just a small storm Jules,” she said. “Nothing to be worried about. It will pass before you know it.”

Juliane gulped and nodded her head.

Outside the window the clouds had thickened into a dark gray wall. The wing disappeared and reappeared as the aircraft pushed deeper into the storm.

The plane rocked again.

A few passengers shifted in their seats. Someone near the front pulled a bag down from the overhead compartment and tucked it beneath their feet.

The baby across the aisle began fussing again.

The aircraft jolted harder.

Loose items rattled against the overhead compartments and several passengers shifted uneasily in their seats. The engines droned steadily as the aircraft pushed deeper into the storm clouds.

Rain hammered against the fuselage.

Outside the window the sky had turned a dull metallic gray. Lightning flickered somewhere inside the clouds, bright enough to illuminate the entire cabin for a brief moment before fading again into darkness.

The plane lurched suddenly. Gasps rose from the passengers as the aircraft dropped and then climbed again. A baby began crying somewhere toward the front of the cabin.

Juliane gripped the armrest. Another flash of lightning tore across the sky outside the window.

Then came a blinding flash. A tremendous crack of thunder exploded through the aircraft as lightning struck the wing. For a moment the entire cabin seemed to glow white.

Then the engines stopped.

The steady drone that had filled the aircraft since takeoff vanished all at once, replaced by a strange hollow silence. The plane lurched violently to one side.

A scream rose somewhere behind Juliane.

Loose bags burst from the overhead compartments and tumbled into the aisle. The baby’s cry turned into a sharp wail as the aircraft pitched downward.

The aircraft shuddered violently. The air was filled with the sound of metal groaning and twisting.

Juliane felt the plane dropping.

Then came another violent sound and then the tail of the aircraft was gone.

Wind rushed into the cabin with a sudden roaring howl. Cold air and rain blasted through the broken fuselage as the aircraft began to come apart.

The world outside the window vanished into spinning gray clouds.

Juliane felt herself lifted violently upward as the aircraft broke apart around her. For a brief moment she saw the wing twisting away into the storm. Then the seat beneath her tore free.

She was no longer inside the plane.

The clouds rushed past in a blur of gray and white. The roar of the storm drowned out every other sound as she spun helplessly through the air.

Below her the dark green canopy of the Amazon rainforest rushed upward.

Then everything went black.

The story of Juliane Koepcke continues in part II of this series.

Author:
Byron Owen is a Reconnaissance Marine with tours as both a platoon commander and commanding officer at the elite 1st Force Reconnaissance Company. He also had the honor of commanding several intelligence and cyber units to include Cyberspace Warfare Task Group 1, and 3d Radio Battalion. He writes about leadership at www.rucksackleadership.com, information warfare at keyterraincyber.com, and is the author of the upcoming book Bury My Heart in Baghdad.