When the plane took off that morning, no one could have imagined what was about to happen.
Among the 90 passengers on board was a 17-year-old girl named Juliana, traveling with her mother to visit family for the holidays.
It was supposed to be a short, peaceful flight — but fate had something else in store.
About halfway through, the aircraft flew directly into a massive thunderstorm over the Amazon rainforest.
Lightning struck. The engines roared. The cabin lights flickered.
And then — everything went dark.
Moments later, the plane broke apart midair.
Screams filled the air as passengers and debris plummeted thousands of feet toward the dense jungle below.
When Juliana opened her eyes, she was lying alone in the rainforest.
Her arm was broken, one eye swollen shut, and she was covered in bruises — but somehow, she was alive.
All around her were pieces of the wreckage… and silence.
For 11 long days, Juliana wandered through the jungle — barefoot, hungry, and terrified.
She followed a small stream, remembering something her father once told her:
“If you follow water, it will lead you to people.”
She survived on rainwater, and what little fruit she could find.
At night, she heard the growls of jaguars and the hiss of snakes, but she never gave up.
On the eleventh day, she stumbled upon a small hunting shelter.
Three local men found her — weak, trembling, and barely conscious. They carried her to safety.
Juliana was the only survivor of that plane crash.
Today, she says she doesn’t believe it was luck — she believes she was spared for a reason.
Her story is one of unbelievable courage, faith, and the will to live.
Even now, decades later, she returns to that jungle — not in fear, but in gratitude.
Because that’s where she learned the true meaning of survival.