And what we are learning about the role of trees
Fortunately, all passengers survived, but nearly everyone on the flight suffered minor injuries, according to Mexican officials. Two people, the pilot and a minor, were more seriously injured.
She fell two miles (3.2 km) strapped into her seat, lost consciousness, and the next morning began her trek through the rainforest with a concussion, broken collarbone, and arm and leg injuries for 10 days before she was found by forest workers. Her story was turned into the 1974 movie 'Miracles Still Happen,' starring Susan Penhaligon (pictured) as Koepcke.
The incredible landing happened only a few minutes after the plane took off from New York's LaGuardia Airport and was hit by a flock of geese. Everybody aboard the aircraft survived, and the event was portrayed in the film 'Sully,' featuring Tom Hanks.
On Christmas Eve 1971, a plane flying over the Peruvian Amazon fell after being struck by lightning. German teen Juliane Koepcke was the sole survivor of the crash, in which 91 other people died.
The Cuban flight plummeted shortly after taking off from Havana's airport on May 18, 2018. Maylen Díaz Almaguer, 19 at the time, was the sole survivor of an accident that killed 112 people.
Flight attendant Vesna Vulovic (center) famously survived a fall of 10,000 m (33,000 ft) in January 1972.
The plane she was in exploded after a bomb placed by Croatian terrorists detonated mid-flight, killing 27 of the 28 people on board.
On October 30, 1959, the Piedmont Airlines plane crashed on Bucks Elbow Mountain in Virginia, killing all 24 passengers but one (Ernest P. "Phil" Bradley), who was found still strapped to his seat near the wreckage.
In March 2003, the engine on the domestic flight departing from Tamanrasset, southern Algeria, caught fire just seconds after takeoff, according to witnesses. The sole survivor was 28-year-old Youcef Djillali. 102 other passengers perished.
See also: Fallen stars: celebrities who perished in air crashes
The plane heading to Mexico City was carrying 103 passengers, including cabin crew members, when it crashed after being hit by a gust of wind.
An 11-year-old girl was the sole survivor of a commuter plane crash on Beaver Island in Lake Michigan on November 13, which took the lives of her father and three others. On November 14, the girl's mother, Christina Perdue, said in a statement that her daughter recalls her father protecting her as the Britten-Norman BN-2 aircraft crash-landed at the Welke Airport, reports ABC News. "It's her last memory before the crash," Perdue said, adding that her daughter was in stable condition at a children's hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
"We are heartbroken with the loss of my husband, a father, brother, son and friend. He gave the best bear hugs, and I believe he grabbed our daughter and protected her," Perdue continued. "Our prayers are also with our island community and the other souls lost in the accident."
A Korean Air plane overshot the runway while landing in bad weather at Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines late on October 23 2022, but authorities said all 173 people on board were safe. Photos show the front underbelly of the plane partly ripped away, though there are no further details on the damage. The Airbus A330, reportedly flying from Seoul to Cebu, attempted to land twice in the poor weather before overshooting the runway on the third attempt, Korean Air Lines Co. said in a statement, as per AP news. All passengers and crew were evacuated on the plane's escape slides.
On May 1, 2023, a small Cessna 206 carrying seven passengers over the Colombian jungle sent out a Mayday alert due to engine failure. The plane crashed into the wilderness in the early hours of the morning, and authorities found that all three adult passengers, including the pilot, had been killed. The four children were, however, missing. Search and rescue efforts ensued as military, firefighters, and civil aviation authority officials began to scour the rainforest. On May 17, more than two weeks after the crash, the four children were found alive. The small group of survivors was made up of a 13-year-old, a nine-year-old, a four-year-old, and an 11-month-old baby. It's believed that they set off into the jungle after the crash to find help and subsisted on fallen fruit. The search teams came across makeshift shelters they had made using jungle vegetation.
On January 2, 2024, Japan Airlines flight 516 reportedly collided with a smaller plane while landing at Tokyo's Haneda Airport. The Airbus A350-900 aircraft was carrying 379 people during the accident and burst into flames. Videos showed the burning plane roll to a stop on the runway. Passengers began to escape via inflatable slides while firefighters struggled to subdue the fire. Incredibly, every single passenger and crew member managed to make it off the plane safely, including eight infants. The plane quickly became engulfed by the inferno and continued to burn for several hours.
The aircraft, operated by Honduran airline Lanhsa, was carrying 14 passengers and three crew members. The wreckage was found about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) offshore, according to the country's transport minister. The flight manifest listed a US national, a French national, and two minors among the passengers.
The plane was en route to La Ceiba's Golosón International Airport on the Honduran mainland when it went down. Dramatic footage shared on social media by national police showed officers and rescue workers carrying survivors onto the rocky shore. The cause of the crash remains unclear.
While plane crashes are often associated with devastating consequences, there are rare cases where survivors walk away with their lives.
Click through this gallery to learn more about the amazing stories of airplane accident survivors.
Seven killed in Honduras as plane crashes into sea after takeoff
Ten survive as rescue teams pull passengers from the remains
LIFESTYLE Tragedy
A plane crashed into the Caribbean Sea off the coast of Honduras on the night of March 17, minutes after taking off from Roatán Island, killing seven people. Ten others were rescued from the wreckage alive, authorities said.
The aircraft, operated by Honduran airline Lanhsa, was carrying 14 passengers and three crew members. The wreckage was found about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) offshore, according to the country's transport minister. The flight manifest listed a US national, a French national, and two minors among the passengers.
The plane was en route to La Ceiba's Golosón International Airport on the Honduran mainland when it went down. Dramatic footage shared on social media by national police showed officers and rescue workers carrying survivors onto the rocky shore. The cause of the crash remains unclear.
While plane crashes are often associated with devastating consequences, there are rare cases where survivors walk away with their lives.
Click through this gallery to learn more about the amazing stories of airplane accident survivors.