Miracle in the Andes

In October 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed high in the Andes Mountains, leaving 33 survivors stranded nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. What followed was a 72-day fight for survival against starvation, freezing temperatures, avalanches, and impossible choices.

In this episode of Crash Lessons, we dive into one of the most extraordinary survival stories ever recorded. From the navigational error that doomed the flight, to the desperate struggle on the mountain, to the incredible expedition that ultimately led to rescue, this is the story of the 16 people who made it home—and the 29 who never did.

Sources:

Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 - Wikipedia 

Miracle of the Andes: How Survivors of the Flight Disaster Struggled to Stay Alive | HISTORY 

Inside The 1972 Andes Plane Crash When Survivors Ate The Dead 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

There are moments in life where everything changes in an instant. One second you're laughing with your friends, looking out the window of an airplane, excited for the weekend ahead. The next the mountain is coming straight at you. The sound of metal tearing fills the cabin. Oxygen masks never drop. People are thrown from their seats as the aircraft begins to come apart. And then silence. Welcome back to the Crash Lessons podcast. I'm your host Robin and this is Flight 571. This is the plane crash where the rescue mission ended after eight days. But the survivors kept fighting for another 72. It's a story about hope and possible decisions and that ordinary people are capable of s and what ordinary people are capable of when survival is the only thing left. This story is a wild ride, guys, so buckle up and let's get into it. Also, little side note, um, if anyone has heard any of my other podcasts, then you know I'm not always the best with pronouncing names, so bear with me and I apologize if I do butcher some of these names. Alright, now let's get into it. It's Friday, October 13th, 1972. The passengers aboard Uruguay Air Force Flight 571 have no idea that in just a few moments their lives are about to change forever. At first, I feel like nothing more than turbulence, the kind that makes you grip the armrest a little tighter before everything settles back down. But this time it didn't. The flight was meant to go from Montevide Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile. After takeoff on October 12th, the plane had to land in Mendoza, Argentina because the poor weather conditions would not allow them to cross over into Chile. But the next day, the weather conditions were better. Not great, but better. And the plane took off for Chile. But despite the weather seeming to be good enough for travel, it still created the conditions for a navigational error. They were crossing over some of the largest mountains in the world where the weather is so unpredictable and can change at any point. If you're not very familiar with the Andes mountain range, then let me get you a little bit familiarized. The Andes are the longest continental mountain range in the world, stretching nearly 7,000 kilometers along the eastern edge of South Africa. Many of the peaks arrive above 20,000 feet. Even the lower mountain passes are surrounded by steep snow covered terrain. On a good day, crossing the Andes is a routine flight. But when clouds roll in and a strong and strong mountain winds begin to build, those same mountains become incredibly unforgivable. With the cloud coverage, limited visibility, and strong mountain winds, not to mention this was in 1972, so there was no GPS navigation or moving maps, and there was very limited radar coverage. The pilots were forced to use the navigation technique called dead reckoning. Dead reckoning is when you use literally everything else to navigate. You go off of speed of the aircraft, how much time has passed, radio navigation, wind speed, which was just an estimate, and compass headings to determine where you are. Basically, it's like saying we've been traveling at this speed for X amount of time, so we must be here. If just one of those calculations was wrong, or if the wind slowed the aircraft more than expected, they could be miles from where they believed they were. And in a place like the Andes, being miles off course can be the difference between a safe landing and flying straight into a mountain. This navigation technique was about to turn deadly. On this specific day, there were strong headwinds, which meant the pilots believed they were traveling faster over the ground than they actually were. Then comes the fatal assumption. The pilots thought that they had cleared the mountains. They radioed air traffic control in Santiago and requested to descend, which ATC approved. ATC approved based off the location the pilots were telling them. None of the passengers knew it, but at that very moment, the pilots believed they had crossed the Andes. In reality, they were surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world. And with that one mistaken assumption, the crash became almost inevitable. They started their descent and then the clouds suddenly cleared up and the crew was staring directly at a mountain. The captain pushed the engines to max power and pulled back on the controls trying to climb, but there was not enough time. The plane first clipped a mountain ridge with the right wing and ripped it off, then the left wing was ripped off after colliding with another ridge. The tail was next to go, sending passengers and luggage flying at the back of the plane. The main cabin landed and slid down a steep slope, a sneep s a sneep a steep snow covered slope and finally came to a stop on a remote glacier basin. The plane was carrying 45 passengers and out of those 45, 33 people survived the initial crash, but only 16 would be rescued. In that moment, surviving the crash felt like a miracle. They had no way of knowing it was only the beginning of a 72-day fight for survival. Before diving deeper into the story, it's important to understand who was actually on flight 571. This wasn't a typical commercial flight. Many of the passengers were members of the Old Christians Club, an amateur red rugby team from Montevideo, Uruguay. The team was traveling to Santiago, Chile for a match, and because it was a charter flight, many of the players had brought along friends and family members. On board were rugby players, students, brothers, cousins, and even a few parents who had joined the trip. Most were young men in their late teens and early twenties. Most were college students, athletes, or recent graduates who had their whole lives ahead of them. The thing with this group of people is they weren't just random people on a flight together. Most of them already knew each other and had bonds. This I think is some very crucial information to know for later in the story. The team culture was also also played a major role. Rugby had taught them discipline, teamwork, resilience, and how to push through pain and adversity. Those lessons would prove to be extremely valuable in the weeks ahead. None of them could have imagined that a short trip to a rugby match would turn into a fight for survival in one of the most unforgiving mountain ranges on earth. Within a few hours, their lives would change forever. And for the 33 people who survived the initial crash, the ordeal was only just beginning. They didn't know it yet, but the plane had crashed in a remote valley high in the Andes Mountains, early nearly 12,000 feet above sea level. Imagine believing you're about to die in a plane crash, only to wake up and realize the real nightmare is just beginning. Lieutenant Raman Salmartinez, navigator, umvidio Ramirez, Steward, Gaston Costamale, Alexis Hooney, and Guido Megri were ripped from the plane. Then Daniel Shaw and Carlo Valletta were also ripped from the plane in the air, killing Shaw. Valletta had survived the initial crash and died from as I don't know why I struggle with this word, asphyxiation as one second. Asphyxiation while stumbling down the snow covered glacier. Team physician Dr. Francisco Nicola, his wife Esther Nicola, uh Eugenia Parado, and Fernando Vasquez were all killed when the plane crash landed because the seat broke loose and slammed against the forward bulkheads, crushing them. Pilot Fernandez died instantly when his head went through the windshield, and co-pilot uh La Garara LaGuarara was in crucial, critical condition and trapped in the crushed cockpit. He had actually asked one of the passengers to find his pistol and put him out of his misery, but they refused. He did end up dying the following day. There were 33 who survived the initial crash and made it through the first day, but there were tons of injuries. People had broken legs. One of the passengers, Arturo Noguri Noguria, had broken both of his legs in multiple places. Any passenger who had a compound fracture did not survive. This is a fracture with an open wound. Two of the passengers who survived the crash, Canessa and Gostova Zerbino, were both medical students and quickly went to triage the wounded, starting with the people who could be helped the most. Nando Perada Parada had a skull fracture and was unconscious for three days. His sister Susanna was badly injured and semi-conscious. Grazielia Mariani's legs were broken and trapped by twisted seats. Enrique Platero had a piece of metal stuck in his abdomen, and when they removed it, it pulled out a few inches of his intestine. But despite that, he went to work helping other survivors. They took inventory of the very limited supplies they had. Food was scarce. They only had a few chocolate bars, some candy, several bottles of wine, and a handful of snacks. Right away they started to ration the food that they had. They also gathered all luggage that they could find, seat cushions and random pieces from the aircraft to give themselves some protection from the cold. This crash happened in October in the southern hemisphere, which is in the middle of springtime for them, so they were not dressed to be stranded at the top of a mountain in the snow. They were dressed for the springtime. While the sun was out, it might have given off some heat, but as soon as the sun went away, the temperatures dropped drastically. They had some shelter with what was left over from the fuselage, which is just the part of the plane that crash landed. Um, but parts were torn from the plane, leaving open openings all around. And planes certainly do not provide the amount of insulation needed to protect the remaining survivors from the cold. Despite all of the shit that just happened, many of them tried to remain optimistic that they would be rescued. I mean, yeah, I wouldn't want to lose hope. They heard that aircraft they heard aircrafts in the distance and were convinced help was coming. Little did they know, they were about to spend weeks up there. As the day slowly turned into night, the survivors did what they could given the circumstances and lack of supplies. They treated whoever they could, freed people who were stuck in the plane, comforted their injured and dying, and turned the fuselage into a make makeshift shelter. They had landed somewhere along a route that was flown many times, so they still had hope that they were going to be rescued within a few days. But little did they know they were stranded twelve thousand feet above sea level in the Andes, and their fight for survival was just beginning. The survivors assumed rescuers would find them quickly. What they didn't know was that search planes were flying over them repeatedly without seeing them. The white fuselage blended into the snow, and after eight days the official search was called off. They heard the aircraft flying overhead, which gave them hope that someone was going to find them. Several times they rushed out into the snow when they heard the aircraft overhead. They even waved clothing, shouted, and did everything they could think of to attract attention. Each time the planes disappeared into the distance without ever seeing them. Then the heartbreaking news came through a small transmitter radio that survived the crash. They heard a news broadcast say that the search for Flight 571 had been officially suspended. Authorities truly did not believe there could be any survivors at this point. And yes, they did survive weeks. That's where it gets the name Miracle in the Andes. I could not imagine waking up from the worst nightmare of my life only to realize I was in fact not dreaming, and then hearing the search parties outlooking for the this outlooking um looking for the sounds to just stop, and then you hear a broadcast that you are no longer being looked for. This is where the realization of the severity of their situation really sets in. Their food supplies were running dangerously low. Many of the survivors were still seriously injured, and they were stranded in one of the most remote regions of the Andes. The hope of an imminent rescue had vanished, and for the first time they were forced to confront the terrifying possibility they may never make it off this mountain. The next part of the story is gonna get a little gruesome. I'm not gonna go into big details, but just a heads up. They got right to work using the fuselage and plane seats to create a shelter and barrier from the elements. Ration food tended to the injured. They also used some aluminum from the seatbacks to warm up snow and create a stream for drinking water. But the rations would not last them very long at all, and they would soon need to figure out a source of protein. Being stuck high up in the Andes Mountains, food and good source of protein was crucial for survival. Yes, without food, anyone would starve to death. But the but the bigger issue here is that the survivors were burning a lot of energy just trying to survive. Your body uses calories to help produce heat and maintain basic functions. The longer they went without food meant less energy, less body heat, and a greater risk for hypothermia. Here's a quote from Nando Parada. One of the survivors said as the rations were running out. On the first day, I slowly sucked the chocolate off the peanut. On the second day, I sucked gently on the peanut for hours, allowing myself only a tiny nibble now and then. I did the same on the third day, and when I finally nibbled the peanut down to nothing, there was no food left at all. Then came the toughest decision they would have to make in their entire lives. There was no type of food source up there at all. They had exhausted all of their options. They knew that if they did not get food soon, they would not make it much longer. They weighed over their options, and there was really only one thing that they could do. The only source of food up on that mountain were the bodies of their fallen friends who had died in the crash. For many of them, this idea was very hard to accept, and not everyone agreed with this decision at first. Most of their survivors were raised in deeply religious Catholic families and struggled with the moral implications of what they were considering. They spent days debating the decision, praying and trying to reconcile it with their faith. Eventually they came to view it as not an act of desecration, but an act of sacrifice. Some of the survivors compared the decision to organ donation. Several survivors later explained that they believed those who had died would have wanted their friends and family to do whatever was necessary to stay alive. Faced with starvation and certain death, on their tenth day, they made the decision to survive. Even after coming to the conclusion this was what they needed to do to survive, many of them were still hesitant and did not join in right away, but over time they did. Many of their survivors remembered just standing there in the snow trying to work up the courage to take a bite, and some became physically ill afterwards. They developed methods to make the food, quotations, last as long as possible by cutting small portions of the deceased bodies and preserved some of the food in the cold mountain air. Although the decision helped keep them alive, many of the survivors later said that the emotional burden of doing so was something they carried with them for a long time afterwards. The survivors had conquered the crash, but now they faced a challenge far more difficult. Living with the survival, living with what survival would require of them. The survivors quickly discovered that the cold and starvation were not the only problems they had to worry about. Being up in the snow meant that they were at risk of snow blindness. So to avoid that, they made some makeshift sunglasses and goggles from visors and other pieces of plastic they managed to salvage from the wreckage. Aside from using seats to make a barricade in the fuselage to block themselves from the elements, they also collected insulation from the aircraft and fabrics to make a sleeping bag that could keep someone alive and sub below temperatures. Despite their ingenuity, survival in the mountain was a constant battle. Just as the survivors began settling into routine, the mountain dealt them another devastating blow. On the night of October 29th, 1972, just 16 days after the crash, the survivors were asleep inside the fuselage when an avalanche roared down the mountain and slammed into the wreckage. Within seconds, tons of snow burst through the open sections of the aircraft, burying many of the survivors where they slept. Those who were still alive found themselves trapped in darkness, struggling to breathe and fighting to dig themselves free. Some survivors were buried up to their necks in the snow, while others were completely trapped. Eight people lost their lives in the avalanche, including Marcelo Perez, the rugby team's captain and one of the group's most important leaders. For those who survived, it was a devastating setback. They had survived the plane crash, starvation, and freezing temperatures, only to lose more friends to a force of nature they could neither predict nor escape. After the avalanche, the survivors found themselves weaker, colder, and more isolated than ever. Yet it was during this darkest period that an idea began to take shape, one that seemed almost impossible. If help wasn't coming to them, perhaps they would have to go and find help themselves. The weeks following the avalanche, the weather was starting to warm up because it was getting closer to summer, so the snow was starting to melt, and several survivors began exploring the mountains surrounding the crash site. What they discovered was both inspiring and terrifying. There was no sign of civilization, only endless peaks stretching to the horizon. They were going on mini expeditions to see what they can find, but the altitude sickness, dehydration, malnourishment, and other factors made it almost impossible for anyone to travel a good distance from the crash site. They finally decided that a couple of the survivors were going to grab some supplies and go find help. The time leading up to the expedition, the three most physically fit that were chosen to go were given bigger food rations to build up their strength. They were excused from the daily tasks, and when the time came, they were given the best clothing to keep them warm during the cold nights with no shelter. The plan was then for them to head west to Chile. And actually, at this point, they had an idea of where they thought they were because before the co-pilot had passed away, he kept saying that they had flown over Curico, which, if that were the case, then the Chilean countryside would be the closest place to go for help, being only a few kilometers west. But little did they know that they were actually about 90 kilometers or 55 miles from the Chilean countryside. On November 15th, after walking for several hours, only getting about 1.6 kilometers downhill east of the fuselage, they found the tail section of the aircraft. With it, they found more luggage with boxes of chocolates, three meat patties, a bottle of rum, bottles of Coca-Cola, cigarettes, and extra clothing, comic books, medicine, and the aircraft's batteries. They decided to stay in the tail for the night, and then the next morning they would continue the descent. But without having any shelter, the second night they almost froze to death. So they made the decision to return to the tail, spend the night the next night there, and then head back to the fuselage. Sorry, I have the hiccups. Uh head back to the fuselage where they hoped they could hook up the batteries to the radio and make an SOS call to Santiago. Now the batteries were too heavy to be carried back uphill in the deep snow to the fuselage, so they chose to hike back up, grab the radio, and then hike back down to the batteries in the tail. Uh, it was a good and promising plan. Uh, but unfortunately the radio required 115 volt AC power, and the batteries were only 24 volt DC. I don't know much about batteries, but that was not going to be strong enough to power the radio. Three more deaths happened in the following weeks, and at this point they knew the only way out was to climb the mountains. Um, because originally they were gonna go west, and then there was kind of a big ass mountain, big ass peak in their way, so they decided to go east. That wasn't gonna work, there was nothing over there, so they were looking for that countryside. The survivors knew that climbing the mountains would be their only chance of getting home, but there was one major problem. Even if they could make it through the deep snow and thin mountain air during the day, the freezing nights would almost certainly kill them. To solve this problem, they got creative once again. Using insulation from the tail section of the aircraft, fabric thread and needles scavenged from luggage, they began sewing together a makeshift sleeping bag. The project took days to complete and involved. Multiple survivors taking turns sewing. It wasn't pretty, but it was warm enough that three people could sleep inside and share body heat. Finally, by early December, the sleeping bag was finished, and so were the preparations. The survivors selected Nando Parado, Roberto Canessa, and Antonio Vizentin Viz for what they hoped would be the final expedition. The three were given extra food rations to build up their strength and equipped with the best clothing available. On December 12th, 1972, nearly two months after the crash, the three men set out into the mountains. At first they believed that civilization was just beyond the peaks surrounding them. Instead, after climbing to the summit of a nearby mountain, Nando Parado was confronted with a devastating sight. For as far as they could see, there was just mountains. The realization hit hard. They had not crashed near the edge of the Andes as they had believed. They were deep within one of the largest mountain ranges in the world, and help was still incredibly far away. At that moment, turning back would have been understandable, but after nearly 60 days on the mountain, none of them were willing to give up. Their food supplies were limited, and they knew they couldn't support three people for the journey ahead. Antonio Vizentin made the difficult decision to return to the crash site, leaving his share of the food with Perardo and Canessa. The two men would continue alone. For the next ten days, they crossed some of the most unforgiving terrain on Earth. They climbed mountain passes, descended steep slopes, crossed rivers, and endured freezing nights inside the sleeping bag. The survivors had painstakingly sewn together from aircraft insulation. At this point, both men were exhausted and surviving on very little food, but they refused to turn back. After everything they had endured, turning around meant almost certain death. As they continued descending, the landscape slowly began to change. The endless snow and ice gave way to running water, patches of grass, and eventually vegetation. After more than two months surrounded by nothing but rock and snow, it was the first real sign that they might actually make it out alive. Then, after ten days of walking, they saw something they had not seen in more than two months, signs of human activity. On December 20th, they spotted a Chilean muleteer muleteer named Sergio Catalan on the opposite side of the river. The roar of the water made it impossible to hear each other, so Perardo and Canessa wrote a message on a piece of paper, tied it to a rock, and threw it across the river. The note explained who they were, that their plane had crashed in the Andes, and that 14 survivors were still alive at the plane crash site, desp desperately waiting for help. For the first time in more than 70 days, the survivors finally knew that rescue was coming. But before help could reach the crash site, Pardo and Canessa still had to convince authorities that they were telling the truth and that 14 other survivors were still trapped high in the Andes Mountains, waiting to be saved. After reading the note, Sergio Catalan immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. He provided Parada Parardo and Canessa with food and alerted local authorities. The note that Parardo threw across the river read I come from a plane that crashed in the mountains. I am Uruguayan. We have been walking for ten days. There are 14 injured people at the airplane. We have to get out of here quickly and we don't know how. We don't have food. We are weak. We are going to come when are you going to come get us? Please, we cannot even walk. Where are we? Once authorities received word, rescue operations began almost immediately. Due to the difficult terrain and weather conditions, helicopters were one were unable to rescue everyone at once. On december twenty second, nineteen seventy two, more than two months after the crash, helicopters finally reached the crash site. The first group of survivors was airlifted from the mountain that day. The remaining survivors spent one final night on the glacier before being rescued the following day, December 23rd. Many of the survivors later described the sound of those helicopters as one of the most beautiful sounds they had ever heard. After 72 days of uncertainty, help had finally arrived. After 72 days in the Andes, 16 survivors had made it home. Of the 45 people who boarded Flight 571 on October 13th, 1972, 29 lost their lives. What began as a short trip to a rugby match had become one of the most extraordinary survival stories in human history. Against overwhelming odds, the survivors endured a plane crash, starvation, extreme cold, an avalanche, and a treacherous journey across the Andes. Their story continues to be studied today as a remarkable example of human resilience, determination, and the will to survive. After the rescue, many people around the world were shocked when they learned that the surviv what the survivors had done to survive. However, once the full circumstances became unknown, many religious leaders, including officials within the Catholic Church, expressed understanding, viewing the survivors' actions as a desperate act of survival when survival rather than a moral failing. The survivors suddenly found themselves at the center of international attention. Newspapers around the world reported on their incredible ordeal, and people were fascinated by how they managed to stay alive for 72 days in one of the harshest environments on earth. Many of the survivors struggled to return to normal life. Not only had they endured starvation, freezing temperatures, and the constant threat of death, but they had also lost close friends, family members, and teammates along the way. The physical scars healed much faster than the emotional scars. Over the years, however, many of the survivors chose to share their stories publicly. They wrote books, gave interviews, and spoke about the lessons they learned from the experience. Rather than allowing the tragedy to define them, many used it as an opportunity to speak about resilience, friendship, faith, and human will to survive. More than 50 years later, the story of Flight 571 continues to captivate people around the world. What began as a devastating aviation disaster became one of the most remarkable survival stories ever recorded. A testament of what ordinary people can accomplish when faced with extraordinary circumstances. Against all odds, 16 survivors walked off that mountain alive. But it's important to remember that this story isn't about the 16 who survived. Of the 45 people who boarded Flight 571, 29 never made it home. Friends, teammates, siblings, parents, and crew lost their lives in the crash and the weeks that followed. The survivors carried those memories with them long after they left the Andes. The plane crash wasn't just wasn't what made the story of Flight 571 extraordinary. Crashes are tragic, but unfortunately they're not unique. What happened after the crash is what set this story apart. The crash lesson here is that human beings are far more adaptable than we think. Faced with freezing temperatures, starvation, isolation, and impossible choices, the survivors continually found ways to solve the next problem in front of them. They didn't survive because they were fearless, they survived because they kept moving forward, one decision at a time, even when the odds were overwhelmingly against them. For 72 days, they endured conditions that should have killed them. Yet in the end, the thing that saved them wasn't luck or strength alone, it was teamwork, preserv perseverance, and the refusal to give up. Because sometimes survival isn't about knowing how you'll make it through. It's simply about finding the courage to take the next step. That's it for today's episode of Crash Lessons Podcast. Thanks for listening, and I will see you guys next time. Bye.