Incident Overview

Description
LANSA flight 508, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashed following a loss of control near Puerto Inca, Peru, killing 91 occupants; one passenger survived the accident. About forty minutes after takeoff, the aircraft entered a zone of strong turbulence and lightning. After flying for twenty minutes in this weather at FL210 lightning struck the aircraft, causing fire on the right wing which separated, along with part of the left wing. The aircraft crashed in flames into mountainous terrain. Structural failure occurred because of the loads imposed on the aircraft flying through a severe thunderstorm, but also because of stresses resulting from the maneuver to level out the aircraft. A 17-year-old German Peruvian, Juliane Koepcke, survived the accident. Despite sustaining a broken collar bone, a deep gash to her right arm, a concussion and an eye injury in the fall, she was able to trek through the dense Amazon jungle for 10 days, until she was rescued by local lumbermen.
Primary Cause
Severe thunderstorm conditions and extreme turbulence caused by lightning strikes, leading to structural failure and wing separation.Severe thunderstorm conditions and extreme turbulence caused by lightning strikes, leading to structural failure and wing separation.Share on: