Incident
While cruising at an altitude of 21,000 feet on a flight from Lima to Pucallpa, the crew encountered poor weather conditions including thunderstorm activity and severe turbulence. A lightning strike ignited a fire on the right wing, which later detached. As the pilot-in-command attempted to stabilize the aircraft, turbulence caused a structural failure of the left wing. Subsequently, the aircraft lost control and dove into the ground, crashing in flames in a jungle located in a mountainous area in the region of Puerto Inca.
Aftermath
Debris and bodies were found scattered over a large area. A 17-year-old female passenger, Juliane Koepcke, was ejected from the aircraft upon impact. She sustained multiple injuries including a broken collarbone, a deep gash to her right arm, a concussion, and an eye injury. Despite these injuries, she walked through the jungle for ten days before being rescued by local lumbermen. She was the sole survivor of the accident.
Probable Cause
The official investigation determined that the probable cause was an in-flight loss of control in bad weather conditions following structural failure of the left wing and fire of the right wing due to thunderstorm and severe turbulence.